‘Scary Movie’ Kills at the Box Office, Setting New Franchise Record With $105 Million Global Debut

The horror parody franchise is officially back from the dead.

Paramount’s new Scary Movie carved up the competition this weekend, debuting with an impressive $55 million at the domestic box office and setting a new opening weekend record for the long-running franchise. The sixth installment also opened to a huge $105.5 million worldwide, proving audiences are still eager for the Wayans brothers’ signature blend of horror and comedy.

The film marks the first Scary Movie entry since 2013 and the first installment involving the Wayans brothers since Scary Movie 2 in 2001, making it a legacy sequel that’s poking fun at the very trend it targets.

Released in 3,490 theaters nationwide, Scary Movie easily claimed the top spot at the U.S. box office, outperforming major releases including Obsession and Backrooms. Perhaps even more surprising, the film completely overshadowed Amazon MGM’s big-budget Masters of the Universe, which opened to just $29.3 million domestically during the same weekend.

The strong debut suggests that horror spoofs still have a place in today’s marketplace, especially as horror continues its remarkable box office dominance. The genre has been one of Hollywood’s most reliable performers throughout 2026, with multiple horror releases posting breakout numbers.

The previous franchise opening weekend record belonged to Scary Movie 4, which earned $49.7 million domestically. More than two decades later, the newest installment has finally surpassed that mark. The overall franchise box office crown still belongs to the original Scary Movie, which grossed $278 million worldwide in 2000, a benchmark the new film will now attempt to chase.

With a reported production budget of only $30 million, the latest sequel is already positioned to become a highly profitable hit for Paramount.

Critics haven’t been nearly as enthusiastic. The film currently sits at 24% on Rotten Tomatoes and received a C+ CinemaScore from audiences. However, those reviews did little to slow ticket sales during opening weekend, making Scary Movie the latest example of a review-proof horror release.

Original franchise favorites Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, and Regina Hall return alongside Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Heidi Gardner, Sydney Park, Felissa Rose, and more.

The official synopsis teases the return of the Core Four twenty-six years after surviving a suspiciously familiar masked killer. This time, no horror franchise is safe as the film takes aim at reboots, remakes, requels, spin-offs, prequels, elevated horror, legacy sequels, and every “final chapter” that somehow keeps coming back.

Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directed the new installment.

Whether the film can maintain its momentum throughout the coming weeks remains to be seen, but one thing is already clear: Scary Movie is proving there’s still plenty of life left in the horror spoof genre.