It's He-Man vs. Skeletor Ghostface at the North American box office this weekend, and Masters of the Universe won't have the power to overcome Scary Movie when they go head-to-head.
As we first reported on SFFGazette.com earlier today, the latest projections from Deadline reveal that Scary Movie is eyeing a franchise-best $52.7 million opening weekend, following a strong $23.5 million start on Thursday/Friday. Masters of the Universe, meanwhile, is a distant second with $31.1 million after grossing only $12.1 million from the last couple of days.
With an expected global debut of less than $50 million, filmmaker Travis Knight's reboot is not the runaway "Barbie for boys" success that Mattel and Amazon MGM Studios were hoping for. Short of it having serious legs, a sequel is highly unlikely.
With horror hits Backrooms and Obsession set to each have a solid hold this weekend, The Mandalorian and Grogu isn't even mentioned in early weekend estimates. When all is said and done, it will likely be the first Star Wars movie that doesn't reach $200 million in the U.S.
The movie has flopped, and while it could just about break even, Disney will have to rely on merchandise sales to make bank on its first streaming series. What that means for Din Djarin and The Child moving forward is hard to say.
Back to Masters of the Universe, and it's been awarded a "B" CinemaScore from moviegoers. The market research firm surveys audience reactions to newly released movies.
After attending opening night screenings, moviegoers rate films on an A+ to F scale, providing insights into audience satisfaction. Widely used in the film industry, CinemaScore helps gauge the initial reception of movies and influences box office predictions based on audience feedback.
A "B" may not sound that bad, but it puts the reboot in the same territory as Green Lantern, The Marvel, The Flash, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. On Rotten Tomatoes, Masters of the Universe currently has 66% from critics and 88% on the fan-generated Popcornmeter.
It's now down to positive word of mouth and longtime fans to save Masters of the Universe's box office hopes, but that's a big ask with a reported $200 million production budget.
In Masters of the Universe, Director Travis Knight brings the legendary franchise back to the big screen in this epic live-action adventure. After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) back to Eternia, where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor (Jared Leto).
To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela (Camila Mendes) and Duncan/Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe.
The supporting cast includes Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress, James Purefoy as King Randor, Charlotte Riley as Queen Marlena, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Fisto, Kojo Attah as Tri-Klops, Sam C. Wilson as Trap Jaw, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Goat Man, Jon Xue Zhang as Ram-Man, Stephen Adentan as Moss Man, James Wilkinson as Mekaneck, and Kristen Wiig as Roboto.
Masters of the Universe is now playing in theaters.