Scary Movie 6 Could Set a Box Office Record for the Franchise

The upcoming horror-comedy Scary Movie, also known as Scary Movie 6, has received a positive box office forecast that sees the reboot potentially breaking a record for the nostalgic franchise. As a spiritual sequel to the first two Scary Movie films, this Paramount Pictures production is spearheaded by Wayans Bros. Entertainment, with multiple members of the Wayans family having a hand in the movie as actors, writers, and producers. Along with their comeback to the series, Scary Movie 6 is a reunion for most of the original cast members for the franchise too, including Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, and Regina Hall. It is scheduled to release nationwide on Friday, June 5, though several special screenings for the film will be available on June 4.

Scary Movie 6’s reported budget is unexpectedly low

The latest box office predictions for Scary Movie 6 has it earning between $45 million and $55 million in its domestic opening weekend from June 5 to June 7. If this holds, it has the chance to set the record for having the highest domestic opener for any Scary Movie film, above Scary Movie 3’s $49.7 million domestic start.

This projection comes straight from a June 3 report from analytics site BoxOfficeTheory, which more or less coincides with a similar $42 million to $53 million prediction made by BoxOfficePro on May 29. While the pair of breakout horror films Backrooms and Obsession will likely pull some moviegoers away from Scary Movie 6 and Masters of the Universe in their shared debut weekend, the report still acknowledges that the parody reboot “is tracking among the best live-action comedies in years (excluding superheroes and high-concept IP like Barbie).” It is encouraged by the movie’s appeal to “millennials and Gen Xers,” along with “Latino and Black communities,” which could lead to a domestic start that’s stronger than expected.

For Scary Movie 6’s full theatrical run in the US and Canada, the site predicts that it will earn $92 million, or in the range of $85 million to $105 million. However, this is based off lower projections from its May 29 report, so this domestic range could be slightly higher at this point. Either way, this would put the film in line with the $90 million domestic total for 2006’s Scary Movie 4 and well above the $32 million domestic total for 2013’s Scary Movie 5. The original Scary Movie from 2000 still holds the franchise’s domestic high of $157 million and global high of $278 million.

Better yet, Variety reports that the budget for Scary Movie 6 is only $30 million, as financed by Miramax, despite the star power behind the production. While this is higher than the $20 million cost for Scary Movie 4, it is surprisingly lower than the $48 million for Scary Movie 3 and $45 million for Scary Movie 4. If we follow the general rule that films needs to make around 2.5 times its budget to break even, Scary Movie 6 has a relatively low bar of having to cross the $75 million mark to make a profit. With its current projections, the film will be a box office success merely based on its domestic total, without considering its international numbers. That’s great news for a franchise that has been on hiatus for over a decade.

As a parody, Scary Movie 6 offers counter-programming to other more serious or action-heavy summer blockbusters releasing in June. So while it will need to compete against Masters of the Universe, Disclosure Day, Toy Story 5, and Supergirl, it could be somewhat shield as a comedic option, at least for several weeks until Jackass: Best and Last comes out on June 26.

The short but sweet final trailer for Scary Movie 6 lampoons 2017’s Get Out, with the masked Ghostface stirring a cup of tea before making Ray Wilkins (Shawn Wayans) sink into his chair.

Source: Comingsoon.net