Horror Rules the Box Office With Record ‘Scary Movie’ Opening

Paramount PicturesIt’s a horror show at the movies this weekend. Paramount’s Scary Movie made a stunning 55 million in its opening weekend, hitting number one at the box office, followed closely by the Gen Z-led horror films Backrooms and Obsession. Scary Movie is the sixth installment in a film franchise that began more than two and a half decades ago and has made over 100 million globally to date. Masters of the Universe, based on the Mattel character He-Man, came in second in the box office, earning 29.3 million in its opening weekend. It still has a long way to go to recoup its 200 million production budget. Backrooms dropped 70percent in its second week, but it still ranks as A24’s highest-grossing film, taking the previous top spot from Marty Supreme, which featured an Oscar-nominated performance by Timothée Chalamet. It has made 212.6 million globally and 135 million in North America. The surprise hit, Obsession, continues its historic run, earning 152.1 million at the domestic box office on a remarkable 750,000 production budget, with an entirely Gen Z director and cast. For the first time, it dropped by only 7 percent in its fourth weekend of release, after steadily gaining popularity week after week through word of mouth since its box office debut. It’s the first film outside the Christmas season to experience this kind of sustained growth since Steven Spielberg’s E.T.Read it at VarietyRead more at The Daily Beast.