Horror gave the domestic box office a much-needed jolt this weekend, as Scary Movie, Backrooms, and Obsession combined to dominate moviegoing and push overall ticket sales well ahead of last year.
Paramount’s Scary Movie opened in first place with $55 million domestically, while A24’s Backrooms added $25.9 million in its second weekend and Focus Features’ Obsession continued its remarkable run with another $25.6 million. Together, the three films accounted for $93.6 million, or 51% of the weekend’s total box office.
Overall sales for all films reached $183 million, compared with $112.8 million during the same weekend last year, when Disney’s Lilo & Stitch led in its third frame with $32.4 million, and Lionsgate’s Ballerina opened to $24.5 million. The result marks the second consecutive weekend in which 2026 has outpaced 2025.
The momentum has been strong enough to shift expectations for the year. Despite Memorial Day weekend coming in 34% lower than last year, the past four weeks have run ahead of the same period in 2025, with $915.9 million in box office compared with $866.9 million last year. Attendance is also up 3% over the same four-week stretch.
The strength of horror has prompted an upgraded domestic box office forecast of $9.1 billion for the year.
Leading the charge was Scary Movie, which revived the long-running spoof franchise with the best unadjusted opening in series history. The film’s $55 million domestic debut topped the $49.7 million launch of Scary Movie 3 in 2003, though that earlier film would equal roughly $90 million today after adjusting for inflation.
The new installment also opened strongly overseas, bringing its worldwide debut to $105.5 million. With a reported production budget of $30 million, the film appears well-positioned for theatrical profitability.
The return of the Wayans brothers gave the franchise a clear selling point after a 13-year absence. Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, and Shawn Wayans helped define the original films before departing the series following disputes with Dimension Films. Their return has been promoted as a creative reset for a franchise many fans felt lost its voice over time.
The new film reunites several original cast members, including Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Jon Abrahams. Its satire takes aim at modern horror and pop culture, including social media influencers, artificial intelligence, OnlyFans, true crime obsession, COVID-era behavior and recent horror hits.
Critics remain cool on the franchise, with the new film earning a 26% critics’ score. Audiences, however, have been far more receptive, giving it a franchise-high 71% audience score.
Amazon MGM’s Masters of the Universe opened in second place with $29.3 million domestically and $54 million worldwide. The long-in-development reboot, starring Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam/He-Man, marks the property’s first live-action theatrical feature since the 1987 film starring Dolph Lundgren.
Directed by Travis Knight, the $170 million fantasy adventure now faces the challenge of holding well enough to justify its large production cost. The film has received mixed-to-positive reviews, with a 66% critics score and a stronger 87% audience score.
In third place, Backrooms dropped 68% from its massive debut but still earned $25.9 million, bringing its 10-day domestic total to $135.1 million and worldwide gross to $212.7 million. Made for an estimated $10 million, the A24 horror title remains one of the year’s most profitable releases.
The film’s trajectory suggests heavy front-loading from an intensely loyal online fan base, but even with the sharp decline, Backrooms has already delivered a massive return. Its success also reinforces the growing power of YouTube-born concepts as viable theatrical properties.
Focus Features’ Obsession may be the weekend’s most astonishing story. The microbudget horror film declined only 7% in its fourth weekend, earning $25.6 million and bringing its domestic total to $152.1 million after 24 days. Worldwide, the film has reached $224.8 million against a reported production budget of just $1 million.
That gives Obsession a staggering 225-to-1 worldwide box office-to-budget ratio. Using a standard theatrical profitability model, the film likely turned a profit during its opening preview screenings and has since become one of the most financially successful horror releases in years.
The film has also shown rare staying power. After opening to $17.2 million, Obsession rose 39% in its second weekend and 10% in its third before slipping only slightly in its fourth. That kind of growth without a major theater expansion is almost unheard of in modern theatrical release patterns.
Rounding out the top five was Fathom Entertainment’s The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act, which opened with $12.7 million over the weekend and $21.1 million across its first four days. Originally planned as a limited-release event, the film expanded to 2,221 theaters due to strong advance ticket sales and has been extended through June 18.
Like Backrooms and Obsession, The Amazing Digital Circus traces its roots to YouTube, where the original animated web series built a massive audience before moving into theatrical exhibition. Together, the three YouTube-born titles have generated more than $308 million domestically, giving Hollywood a new model to study.
The weekend’s results suggest that audiences are not simply returning to familiar franchises but to properties with passionate, prebuilt communities and strong genre hooks. Horror remains the clearest driver, but the bigger story may be how online fandom is reshaping the theatrical marketplace.
After years of industry anxiety over shrinking attendance and franchise fatigue, the early summer box office has found unlikely saviors: Deadites, digital nightmares, microbudget terror, and a spoof franchise many had written off.
For exhibitors, that is no joke.
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Focus Features’ Obsession turns a simple wish into a nightmare
