Scary Movie is now tracking to beat Masters of the Universe at the box office
Tracking has nearly doubled for the Wayans-led reboot. Amazon MGM’s $200 million He-Man movie is now projected for a softer June 5 opening.
As of late May 2026, the box office race for the June 5 weekend is shaping up to be one of the more surprising matchups of the year. According to the latest tracking from industry sources, Scary Movie 6 is now projected to open ahead of Masters of the Universe, with BoxOffice Pro forecasting $43 to $53 million for the Wayans Brothers reboot versus roughly $32.5 million for the big-budget He-Man revival.
That would give the R-rated horror parody the number-one spot at the domestic box office, a notable upset given the IP power of Masters of the Universe and the family-friendly positioning of the latter.
Current tracking and projections
Three films are opening within the same window, splitting some audience attention but highlighting very different demos.
Scary Movie 6 from Paramount and Miramax has seen its tracking nearly double in two weeks. Early BoxOffice Theory forecasts from May 8 sat at $25 to $35 million. By May 22, BoxOffice Theory had raised its projection to $41 million within a range of $35 to $52 million, and BoxOffice Pro pushed it higher at $43 to $53 million. Per Deadline, the film also has a “first choice” rating roughly three times that of Masters of the Universe in key demos.
The film is being released under the simplified title Scary Movie rather than Scary Movie 6 to position it as a reboot rather than a sixth installment. Presales are described as solid, particularly among women under 25 and nostalgia-driven millennials who grew up on the original Wayans-led entries.
Masters of the Universe from Amazon MGM Studios has hovered in the $25 to $39 million range, with the most recent BoxOffice Pro update landing at $32.5 million. For a reported $200 million production budget, that is considered soft.
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act from Fathom Entertainment opens June 4 and is tracking around $10 to $14.5 million.
Scary Movie 6 was moved up because the trailer went viral
The Wayans reboot was originally slated for June 12 but moved up a week to June 5 in early March 2026. Marlon Wayans said on Instagram that Paramount made the shift due to the “overwhelming response” to the film’s trailer.
The real strategy is likely twofold. The trailer genuinely overperformed, and Pixar‘s Toy Story 5 opens June 19, meaning every studio with summer counter-programming wants to clear out before then. Masters of the Universe, The Amazing Digital Circus, and Scary Movie 6 are all clustered into the same pre-Pixar window.
Pent-up demand for raunchy comedy
One of the biggest factors in Scary Movie 6‘s improved tracking is simple. Audiences appear hungry for old-school, unapologetically raunchy R-rated comedy.
The original Scary Movie films were massive commercial successes in the early 2000s, with Scary Movie 3 opening to $48.1 million in 2003. After years of PG-13 superhero dominance, sanitized streaming content, and a post-pandemic preference for event spectacles, there is a clear appetite for the kind of broad, silly, boundary-pushing parody the Wayans perfected.
The new film is directed by Michael Tiddes, a longtime Wayans collaborator. Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Keenen Ivory Wayans all returned to write and produce alongside longtime collaborator Rick Alvarez. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are back as well, though at least one original cast member is reportedly missing.
Marlon Wayans has leaned into the throwback positioning in interviews, teasing that the film will take shots at recent horror hits including Sinners, Weapons, Heretic, Longlegs, Get Out, and Nope. The reunion of the Wayans brothers plus Faris and Hall is generating real nostalgia heat.
BoxOffice Pro has noted that Scary Movie 6 fits a clear “Gen Z movies making a comeback” pattern, alongside Scream 7 (2026), Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025), I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025), 28 Years Later (2025), and 28 Years Later: The Bond Temple (2026). Not all of those films have been hits, but the trend toward late-1990s and early-2000s horror revivals is real.
Masters of the Universe is fighting an awareness battle
Masters of the Universe is directed by Travis Knight, best known for the well-reviewed Bumblebee (2018). Nicholas Galitzine plays He-Man and Prince Adam, with Jared Leto as Skeletor.
Reactions to the film’s marketing have been mixed. Galitzine has described the character as having “a modernity to him” and representing “a handshake between what traditional masculinity and femininity are.” Some have defended the framing as adding depth, while others online have pushed back hard, arguing it strays from the classic ultra-masculine He-Man archetype.
BoxOffice Theory has been cautious in its tracking commentary, noting that “80s nostalgia has likely peaked in commercial terms, and the brand arguably carries a level of cultural and kid awareness more comparable to the likes of Tron: Ares than Transformers.” That comparison is not flattering. Tron: Ares opened to $33.5 million in 2025 against a $180 million budget and underperformed significantly.
The film’s marketing has also been complicated by Jared Leto‘s near-total absence from the press tour, which industry observers have linked to a combination of recent misconduct allegations against him and broader concerns about his commercial appeal.
Why this would be an upset
He-Man is a genuine pop culture icon with decades of brand recognition, toy sales, and cartoon nostalgia. A big-studio movie based on it should, in theory, have a built-in advantage over a reboot of a parody franchise whose last entry was over a decade ago.
An R-rated comedy beating a major family IP opening weekend would signal a few things at once. Audience fatigue with certain big-budget spectacles. Strong nostalgia power for early-2000s raunchy comedy. And the possibility that Masters of the Universe is still fighting an awareness or perception battle despite its cast and scale.
It would also be a rare win for an original-feeling R-rated comedy in a marketplace that has largely favored PG-13 tentpoles or horror in recent years.
What each film needs financially
Masters of the Universe carries a $170 to $200 million production budget. Using standard Hollywood math of roughly 2 to 2.5 times the production budget to break even when including marketing and prints and advertising, it likely needs $400 to $500 million or more worldwide to turn a profit. A $32 million domestic opening is a slow start. The film would need excellent word-of-mouth and strong international performance, especially in markets where He-Man has toy or cartoon history, to avoid being labeled a disappointment.
Scary Movie 6 does not have a publicly detailed budget, but parody comedies are generally cheaper to produce. Even a mid-$30 million opening gives it a much clearer path to profitability, especially if it plays well with its core audience and has decent legs.
The bottom line
Right now, the numbers favor Scary Movie 6 to take the weekend. Whether that holds depends on final tracking shifts, walk-up business, and how each film plays once reviews and word-of-mouth kick in.
What is most interesting is the cultural snapshot. A raunchy, unapologetic R-rated comedy reboot is currently outpacing a big-budget adaptation of one of the most iconic 1980s action heroes. In a year full of big swings, that would be one of the more telling results, proof that sometimes the audience just wants to laugh, and maybe get a little filthy, instead of watching another polished spectacle.
Both movies have passionate fanbases. One is betting on nostalgia and chaos. The other is betting on spectacle and legacy. This weekend, we will see which one wins the box office, and what that says about where audiences are in 2026.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
D/REZZED is part of Clownfish TV. For more news, views, and rants on gaming and tech, visit clownfishtv.com. Watch the show on YouTube at @ClownfishTV where new episodes drop daily. Subscribe to the Clownfish TV podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever else you get your podcasts. Sign up for the free newsletter at more.clownfishtv.com.
Hat Tips:
BoxOffice Pro, May 22, 2026 long-range forecasts showing Scary Movie 6 at $43 to $53 million and Masters of the Universe at $32.5 million
BoxOffice Theory, May 2026 tracking updates and commentary on the post-peak 1980s nostalgia commercial environment
Deadline, “first choice” demographic data and reporting on the Wayans’ return as writers and producers
ComingSoon, AOL, and Yahoo Entertainment, detailed coverage of Scary Movie 6‘s tracking changes and the Gen Z horror comeback trend
World of Reel and Punch Drunk Critics, coverage of the Scary Movie 6 release date move and Masters of the Universe tracking concerns
Bloody Disgusting and Variety interviews with Marlon Wayans on Scary Movie 6 spoof targets and tone
ScreenRant and fan discussions on Nicholas Galitzine’s “modernity” comments about He-Man