Scary Movie 6 delivers franchise-best debut with $105.5 million worldwide opening weekend

It’s the Scary Movie franchise with a bang. Scary Movie 6 is running to a strong $105.5 million world opening, beating the previous record for the extended horror-comedy franchise, which was set by Scary Movie 5’s record $71 million opening six years ago. Scary Movie 2 also made a North American record opening, with $56 million, better than Scary Movie 4’s 2006 record of $54 million.

The sixth entry in the series is over 10 years after Scary Movie 5 and marks a big step back to the roots of the franchise. Actor duo Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans were also back for the first time in the films since Scary Movie 2 with their iconic roles, while beloved actresses Anna Faris and Regina Hall also get to return.

Produced by Paramount Pictures, the film has clearly benefited from the retro sentiment as well as resurgence of interest in parody comedies. Initially, it was thought to release at home in the $45-$55 million bracket but the movie won over expectations and became the box office king. But industry tracking was already showing that there was great demand following the film’s record-breaking preview night performance for a film rated R for an R-rated comedy.

Scary Movie 6 is a spoof of some of the top horror and pop-culture cinema releases of the last couple of years, such as M3GAN, Sinners, Weapons and more. But, as has been pointed out by critics, the film gets very dark into the outrageous humor, and the self-deprecating approach, that made the original, Wayans-driven films huge hits in the early 2000’s.

The setup is particularly impressive in view of the competitive theatrical scene these days. The terror genre has taken a firm grip of the movie market in 2026 as original scare movies like Backrooms and Obsession have yielded big box office returns. When Scary Movie 6 was based on the original’s premise of comedy, audiences responded happily, as they did in the case of its predecessor.

Scary Movie 6 looks like it’s set for a great theatrical debut after already opening a franchise record first weekend with positive crowds. The movie not only revived one of the most iconic parody series in cinema but also had one of the most successful openings of the year.