Scary Movie Slays with Record Opening as He-Man Tanks at the Box Office

When the weekend box office numbers landed, I can't pretend I was surprised to see Masters of the Universe come up short — but it's still a letdown given all the hype. Amazon and MGM threw everything at this one: a stonking budget, huge marketing, solid cast, the lot. Even the reviews were positive, for what it's worth (ours included). But it turns out nostalgia alone can't fill seats, with the film limping home to $29.3 million and a non-committal 'B' CinemaScore. Not exactly a He-Man-level performance.

Exclusive Release, Lukewarm Results

The approach looked like a textbook studio play: proper theatrical exclusivity, a roster of notable names up front, and a target audience of fans who, let's be honest, mostly have mortgages now. Trouble is, that crowd isn't stampeding to the multiplex on opening weekend, and it shows. Masters just didn't break past its niche appeal, even with the best intentions (and budgets) behind it.

Who Did Show Up? Spoiler: Not Who You'd Expect

• Scary Movie 6: Critical reception? Absolutely dreadful. Box office? Record-breaking. The Wayans brothers are evidently bulletproof with their core fans, and their new instalment pulled in a wild $55 million domestic opening — the biggest ever for the series. Overseas, it raked in another $50 million, for an eye-watering $105 million global debut. Turns out giving the Wayans family back the wheel was a clever move by Paramount, as nobody really knew if the brand still played outside the US.
• The Backrooms vs. Obsession: Two YouTuber-powered horror films went toe-to-toe. Backrooms suffered a nasty 68% drop in its second weekend (down to $25.9 million), nearly overtaken by Curry Barker's Obsession, which only dipped 7% but still landed $25.6 million. Obsession has now made $152 million in the US alone and may well cross $200 million soon — massive for a genre flick. Backrooms fans shouldn't stress, though; even with the sharp fall, it's already the biggest hit A24 has ever put out, so director Kane Parsons is probably sleeping fine.
• The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act: A bit of a shock inclusion in the top five, pulling $12.7 million this weekend (totaling $21 million so far), bolstered by hefty Thursday preview numbers. It’s always fun to see something weird slip through.
• The Mandalorian and Grogu: This one is turning into a proper disaster for Disney. $10 million this weekend brings its domestic run to $155 million, but there's no way it's topping $200 million now. Looks like a loss in the end — and not one they'll chalk up to 'streaming competition' either.
• Michael (that’s the biopic): Still hoovering up cash — $7.7 million this weekend, now sitting on a gigantic $354 million US total.
• The Breadwinner (Nate Bargatze stand-up vehicle): Tumbled 54% this weekend to $3.4 million, for an underwhelming $13.8 million overall. Unless there's a late miracle, it’s joining the long roster of comic-led box office flops: see Easter Sunday, About My Father, et al.
• Pressure (Brendan Fraser WWII drama): Continues to flail, earning just $3 million for a total of $11 million stateside.
• The Devil Wears Prada 2: Proving the enduring appeal of snarky fashion editors, it picked up another $2.8 million to reach $214 million domestically. Apparently there’s still an appetite for Miranda’s withering putdowns.

'What went wrong for Masters of the Universe?'

It's all a bit odd, really. You can argue Amazon/MGM followed the letter of the blockbuster law — big spends, big stars, exclusivity. In the end, though, it all boils down to the crowd. Speaking of the film's audience, 'It was primarily an event movie for people who grew up with the cartoon and are likely in their forties now — a demographic that may be less inclined to rush out to theatres on opening weekend.'

If you've got your own theories on why He-Man couldn't muscle past the competition, put them in the comments.