Masters of the Universe hopes to have the power of box office potency when it debuts this weekend. As I wrote in my financial prediction post, that could be a challenge. This is the second big screen treatment for the animated series and toy line behind 1987’s dud with Dolph Lundgren as He-Man. Nicholas Galitzine takes over the role almost four decades later with Jared Leto as Skeletor. The supporting cast includes Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Kristin Wiig (providing voiceover work), Morena Baccarin, and Idris Elba. Travis Knight, no stranger to adapting 80s material with Bumblebee, directs.
Several critics are being kind and calling it entertaining summer fluff. The Rotten Tomatoes score is 74%. The 53 Metacritic is more indicative of some negative critical reaction as well. The mid 80s Masters actually received a Razzie nomination in Supporting Actor for Billy Barty. The new Masters probably won’t show up there. With Visual Effects as the only remote possibility, I can’t imagine it showing up at the Academy Awards either. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…
**Blogger’s Update (06/03): A day after posting my top 5 predictions, we are making it a top 6. The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act wasn’t really on my radar screen. However, the combination of episodes for the adult web animated series opens Thursday and is expected to make some noise. My $13.1 million Friday to Sunday guesstimate gives it the 5 spot, knocking The Mandalorian to sixth.
While scary movies ruled the charts in the remarkable weekend that just happened, the franchise that spoofs them returns to theaters for the first time in 13 years and should place #1. In addition to Scary Movie, He-Man is back in multiplexes after nearly 40 years offscreen with Masters of the Universe. You can peruse my detailed prediction posts on the newcomers here:
Scary Movie looks to be arriving at an opportune time as horror flicks are dominating and posting previously unthought of grosses via Backrooms and Obsession. The sixth entry in the series began in 2000, it could absolutely break the franchise opening record held by Scary Movie 3 at $48 million. I’ve got it just under in what should be an uncomplicated path to the top slot.
The race for #2 is more open. Adapting the toy line and Saturday morning cartoon that began over 40 years ago (and led to a panned Dolph Lundgren live-action version in 1987), Masters needs family audiences to turn out as teens and adults will be preoccupied with Scary Movie and scary movies. My projection of just under $30 million would be considered a letdown. If Masters does my estimated figure, it opens the door for Backrooms to be second if it drops in the 60% range. That’s what I’m saying will happen in a photo finish.
Then there’s Obsession which has built its earnings from the first week to the second to the third. As mentioned before, that’s practically unheard of for any wide release movie (let alone a horror one). I have it finally easing in the mid teens in week #4, but we’re in uncharted territory here so who knows?
After a troubling second outing, The Mandalorian and Grogu should round out the top five. Finally, Power Ballad with Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas expands nationwide. I didn’t do an individual post for it. I’ll put its wide release at $4.2 million and that’s well outside the top five.
Here’s how I have it shaking out:
1. Scary Movie
Predicted Gross: $47.5 million
2. Backrooms
Predicted Gross: $30.6 million
3. Masters of the Universe
Predicted Gross: $29.8 million
4. Obsession
Predicted Gross: $23.4 million
5. The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act
Predicted Gross: $13.1 million
6. The Mandalorian and Grogu
Predicted Gross: $11 million
Box Office Results (May 29-31)
Before Backrooms came out, A24’s largest opening weekend belonged to Civil War at $25 million. I knew Backrooms would blast past that record and predicted that it would more than double that figure at $57 million. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Based on the hit found footage web series, it more than tripled A24’s previous best at $81.4 million. To say the least, young viewers turned out in droves and a new franchise is undoubtedly born.
Obsession stayed in second and increased its crowd by 14% at $27.3 million, falling just below my $29.5 million prediction. The phenomenon now has $105 million in the bank after three weeks.
A week after experiencing the worst Star Wars start in the Disney era, The Mandalorian and Grogu had the heftiest percentage drop of them all. Falling 70%, it made $24.4 million compared to my $25.6 million call. The less than anticipated total is $136 million.
Michael was fourth with $11.8 million (I said $13 million) as the musical biopic has amassed $340 million after six weeks.
Nate Bargatze is a bestselling stand-up, but it didn’t translate to box office bucks in his first starring vehicle The Breadwinner. It sputtered in fifth with only $7.3 million. I was more generous at $12.1 million.
Finally, Pressure opened in seventh with $5.8 million. The well-reviewed World War II drama got beyond my $4.9 million estimate with the fifth highest per theater average in the top 10.
Bringing IP to the screen that’s been dormant for nearly 40 years, Masters of the Universe hopes to kickstart a new franchise when it debuts June 5th. Adapting the toy line and Saturday morning cartoon franchise that began in the early 80s, Travis Knight (Bumblebee) directs with Nicholas Galitzine as hero Adam/He-Man and Jared Leto as the villainous Skeletor. The supporting cast includes Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Morena Baccarin, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, and Idris Elba. Kristin Wiig provides voiceover work.
While the film has been in development for many years, you have to go back to 1987 to find the first (and last) time these characters appeared in theaters. That was with Dolph Lundgren as He-Man, Frank Langella as Skeletor, and Courteney Cox in the middle of the action. It was a critical and financial dud and the new Masters hopes to avoid the same fate.
There are challenges. First and foremost, younger viewers may not be as familiar with the source material. Older viewers who did watch the animated series decades ago might not be clamoring for the update. The studio is banking on parents and their kids turning out.
Knight exceeded expectations with Bumblebee and Amazon MGM looks for buzz to increase with his latest. I’m still skeptical this meets its somewhat meager expectations in the mid 30s. I’m taking the under for a rocky beginning.
Masters of the Universe opening weekend prediction: $29.8 million
Friends: The Reunion premieres today on HBO Max and millions of the show’s fans can rejoice in seeing the six main characters from the NBC sitcom together on the couch once again. Running from 1994 to 2004, the show was an instant smash that continues to gain new followers through streaming services.
I was a viewer going back to the mid 90s. Due to Friends becoming so gigantic at the outset, Hollywood studios quickly tried make the main cast immediate movie stars. This resulted in varying degrees of success.
So in honor of the reunion, let’s take a look back in movie history at this iconic sextet and I’ll rank each actor from 1-6 on their cinematic output!
Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green)
The Friends Zone Cinematic Ranking: 1
Before her casting as Rachel, Aniston’s only significant big screen credit was as a lead in the cult slasher Leprechaun. Yet her filmography during and after Friends easily puts her atop these rankings. She garnered critical raves in the indie dramas The Good Girl and Cake, was the love interest in the now beloved Office Space, and has plenty of comedic hits like Bruce Almighty, Horrible Bosses, We’re the Millers, and Murder Mystery.
Courteney Cox (Monica Geller)
The Friends Zone Cinematic Ranking: 3
Cox is really the only Friendster with notable movie appearances before the show. Just a few months before the Friends premiere, she starred alongside Jim Carrey in the surprise hit Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Years before that, she acted alongside He-Man and Skeletor in Masters of the Universe. During Friends, she appeared in the horror blockbuster Scream and she’s about to turn up early next year in its fourth sequel. The rest of her filmography is pretty scant, but she’s the only one with a well established franchise.
Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay)
The Friends Zone Cinematic Ranking: 2
Many might call 1997’s cult favorite Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion her finest contribution to the silver screen. Kudrow has also appeared in several supporting roles over the years from The Opposite of Sex to Analyze This and its sequel to Easy A to Booksmart. There’s certainly been some clunkers (Hanging Up and Lucky Numbers), but the voluminous output is enough to rank Kudrow in second.
Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani)
The Friends Zone Cinematic Ranking: 6
He found further TV success post Friends (though it took some time after the ill-fated spin-off Joey). LeBlanc’s big screen career never really launched. The 1996 starring vehicle Ed paired him with a primate and was a critical and commercial disaster. To put it another way, the monkey business with Marcel on the TV show was far more profitable. Two years later, his participation in the Lost in Space pic was met with shrugs.
Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing)
The Friends Zone Cinematic Ranking: 4
Perry ranks first among the boys as he had solid performers alongside Bruce Willis in The Whole Nine Yards and Zac Efron in 17 Again. There were, on the other hand, some duds like his pairing with Chris Farley in Almost Heroes and in the Yards sequel. He’s about to appear in his most high profile entry in years with Don’t Look Up from Adam McKay which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence.
David Schwimmer (Ross Geller)
The Friends Zone Cinematic Ranking: 5
The Pallbearer found Schwimmer in a rom com with Gwyneth Paltrow in 1996. It wasn’t quite the loud flop that Ed was, but it certainly came and went with little fanfare. His filmography is rather low-key with supporting appearances in Six Days, Seven Nights and Apt Pupil. His greatest successes can be found in voiceover work as Melman in the Madagascar franchise and on the small screen in the heralded limited series The People v. O.J. Simpson.
And there’s your trip down Friends memory lane, folks! For the real thing, watch the team reunion on HBO Max.
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