'Scary Movie' makes history for the franchise with a $55M debut – Weekend of June 5, 2026

Another strong weekend for cinema — and the box office grew a tad from last week on actual dollars, meaning this past weekend is now the 2nd strongest 3 day weekend of the year, behind only behind Easter Weekend.

One interesting dynamic from this weekend's box office results is that total revenue increased 1% compared to last weekend, while ticket sales declined 2%. 

The primary reason? A shift in the mix of films driving attendance. Family-friendly titles accounted for a smaller share of the box office this weekend, with Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu and The Sheep Detectives generating 6% of total revenue, compared to 17% from family titles last weekend. 

Because family films benefit from child and matinee ticket pricing, they typically generate more admissions per dollar of revenue. As a result, even though overall box office dollars were slightly higher this weekend, the lower contribution from family titles led to fewer tickets being sold.

Year to date the box office sits at just shy of the $4B mark and is up +13% from last year, continuing on its run to be the best year since the pandemic. 

The Wayans brothers return to revive a spoof-filled parody franchise

Scary Movie 6 claimed the top spot at the box office this weekend with an outstanding $55 million debut, marking the biggest opening in franchise history and one of the strongest comedy openings in recent years. 

It marks the creative return for the Wayans brothers, who helped launch the series by writing and directing the first two installments in 2000 and 2001. It's also a significant bounce back for the franchise after the poorly received fifth film in 2013, which lacked series staples Anna Faris and Regina Hall. 

While critics didn't like the movie, citing recycled jokes and a disjointed narrative, audiences have embraced the nostalgic reunion of the original cast and the return to the franchise's roots, proving that familiarity and brand recognition can still be powerful draws at the box office.

Masters of the Universe had a much more muted opening despite generally positive reception from both critics and audiences, including a solid B CinemaScore. 

The biggest challenge appears to have been audience composition. Rather than attracting a new generation of moviegoers, the film skewed heavily toward older fans of the property, with 83% of ticket buyers over age 21 and 60% between ages 25 and 54. 

The film also entered a crowded marketplace. A24's breakout horror phenomenon Backrooms continued its strong run with another $26 million in its second weekend, while Obsession remained a force in its fourth weekend with $25 million. 

Even Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, though slowing considerably from its opening, continues to compete for many of the same moviegoers. The result was a film that generated enthusiasm among its core fan base but struggled to expand beyond it.

Online-native content continues to translate to the cinema

While its numbers were smaller than those of Scary Movie 6 and Masters of the Universe, The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act also exceeded expectations. 

Benefiting from a passionate built-in fan base and the event-like nature of the release, fans turned out in force to avoid spoilers and experience the story on the big screen before the finale premieres on YouTube later this month. 

The performance demonstrates the growing ability of online-native intellectual property to convert digital audiences into theatrical ticket buyers, particularly when fans view the release as a communal event rather than simply content they can watch later at home.

Will audiences show up for vintage Spielberg energy?

New this coming weekend is Steven Spielberg's highly anticipated Disclosure Day. Despite strong early reviews and significant industry buzz, tracking remains somewhat conservative at $35–50 million. The film — co-written by David Koepp and featuring a score by longtime collaborator John Williams — marks Spielberg's return to the sci-fi and extraterrestrial themes that helped define films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., and War of the Worlds. 

Rather than focusing on an alien invasion, Disclosure Day is a political conspiracy thriller, following whistleblowers attempting to expose decades of government UFO cover-ups.  

Following the lifting of its review embargo, the film debuted with a 90% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with many reviewers praising Spielberg's blend of large-scale spectacle and character-driven storytelling. 

Emily Blunt is generating significant awards-season buzz, with critics calling her performance as a meteorologist capable of otherworldly communication among the best of her career and an early contender for a Best Actress nomination. 

The film also benefits from the growing mainstream fascination with UFO and UAP disclosures in recent years, potentially giving its subject matter a timeliness that extends beyond traditional science-fiction audiences.

If word-of-mouth proves strong, Disclosure Day could follow the trajectory of recent adult-skewing originals that opened modestly but demonstrated exceptional staying power throughout the fall.

How The People Platform's audience measurements can help drive insights

• How many tickets will be sold this coming weekend? Find out on our next Cinema Ranker for a box office forecast and follow us on LinkedIn to stay up to date with the latest cinema industry insights.

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