The SMP has graduated to June, and here’s hoping it’ll be an even better month than the incredible May we just experienced. This weekend we have three new Wide releases, one of which came out on Thursday as a Fanthom exclusive. Of focus here is our only head-to-head battle of ‘major’ movie selections between Scary Movie (selected by 22 players) and Masters of the Universe (13 players). Scary Movie may have opened with a reported $7.8M in Thursday showings, but it is getting hammered by the critics while audiences scores aren’t as good as hoped. That $50M opening projection might be a bit optimistic, and we can definitely expect any poor word-of-mouth to hinder long-term gains. My summer is riding on this one – eek.
The 2026 Masters of the Universe remake did not have as good a Thursday showing with just $4.4M, resulting in a weekend opening projection below $30M. But… the audience seems to really like it, and let’s not forget that it has taken over many IMAX screens previously occupied by Mandalorian. TIL that the movie’s star (Nicholas Galitzine) also recently appeared in The Sheep Detectives. Someone’s been busy.
Box Office Theory forecast for this weekend:
| # | 3-Day Wknd (M) | % Change | Total (M) | Theater Count | |
| 1 | Scary Movie | 50.4 | NEW | 50.4 | 3,490 |
| 2 | Masters of the Universe (2026) | 29.6 | NEW | 29.6 | 3,667 |
| 3 | Backrooms | 26.9 | -67% | 137.8 | 3,565 |
| 4 | Obsession | 20.9 | -24% | 146.6 | 2,896 |
| 5 | The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act | 12.0 | NEW | 12.0 | 2,000 |
| 6 | Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu | 11.0 | -55% | 157.9 | 3,355 |
Rotten Tomatoes freshness ratings:
| All Critics | Top Critics | Verified Audience | |
| Scary Movie | 26% | 10% | 71% |
| Masters of the Universe (2026) | 66% | 53% | 88% |
| The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act | n/a | n/a | 94% |
CinemaScore ratings:
| Score | |
| Scary Movie | C+ |
| Masters of the Universe (2026) | B |
| The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act | n/a |
TBD ratings updates will be posted as they are published.