After the traditional Wednesday previews and Thursday night openings, the data is starting to surface. It looks like Scary Movie 6 is overcoming frankly risible reviews to top the weekend box office. It is on track to pull in $53 million at the box office over the weekend, including preview and first Friday hauls of nearly $24 million. Never underestimate the purchasing power of idiots.
Meanwhile, the other big release of the week – Masters of the Universe – looks like it is fulfilling the early soft box office projections with a debut weekend in the $31 to $33 million range, which is nowhere near enough for a $170 million budgeted tentpole release.
Critics’ reviews could be described as mixed, maybe trending slightly positive. Audience reviews have been much more positive, connecting with the tone through a dose of nostalgia. It seems as if the audience might be limited somewhat to a certain slice of GenX, and that is behind the muted response. Amazon MGM Studios will be hoping that word of mouth spreads.
I am off to the theater with the kids to see it this lunchtime.
Elsewhere at the box office, BobaPhil’s proposed new era for Hollywood continues to look inevitable, as the second weekend of Backrooms is headed for a $26.5 million three-day weekend take. By the end of the weekend, it will be closing in on $140 million . That’s against a budget of barely $10 million.
Elsewhere, in the same vein, Curry Barker’s Obsession may be levelling off, but that is after one hell of a climb to a fourth weekend result of another $25 million, taking it to $152 million. Not bad for a $750,000 budget.
Next big ticket items off the blockbuster ranks are Spielberg’s Disclosure Day and Supergirl, both to compete with the World Cup for eyeballs.
