Movies
“Lost” and ‘Prometheus’ Writer ‘World War Z’ Savior?
Holy crap World War Z much suck, and it must suck badly. On the heels of news that Paramount Pictures has agreed to several more weeks of shooting, THR writes that screenwriter Damon Lindelof has been brought in to save Paramount’s troubled zombie movie.
The big-budget movie, in which Brad Pitt stars and is serving as one of the producers, has been troubled, and its release has been pushed from a December, 2012 release to June, 21 2013. It is now awaiting signficant reshoots. Lindelof, the “Lost” co-creator and co-author of Ridley Scott and Fox’s Prometheus, is said to be focusing on the movie’s third act. The production hopes to begin reshoots in September or October.
Z, based on the 2006 novel by Max Brooks, is intended to be a zombie picture with sociological and political overtones. It also stars Mireille Enos (“The Killing”), James Badge Dale and Anthony Mackie. Marc Forster is directing the movie, which shot last year in various European locales.
“The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself. Enos plays Gerry’s wife Karen Lane; Kertesz is his comrade in arms, Segen.“
The horror spoof franchise is back in a big way with brand new installment Scary Movie, which slashes through the Scream franchise and the recent rise of legacy sequels. It’s the first installment in the franchise since 2013 and the first to involve the Wayans brothers since Scary Movie 2 way back in 2001, making it a true legacy sequel in its own right.
But are audiences still hungry for horror spoofs? Well, Scary Movie just had the highest grossing opening weekend in franchise history with $55 million at the U.S. box office. That allowed Scary Movie to top the domestic box office, beating out mega hits Obsession and Backrooms. Paramount released Scary Movie in 3,490 theaters across the U.S. for its debut.
What’s particularly impressive here is that Scary Movie absolutely demolished the big budget Masters of the Universe movie, both films embarking on their debut weekend at the very same time. While Scary Movie debuted with a healthy $55 million, Amazon MGM’s Masters of the Universe made just $29.3 million across its opening weekend here in the United States.
Worldwide, Scary Movie opened with a whopping $105.5 million, suggesting that the appetite for the Wayans brothers’ particular brand of comedy remains strong here in 2026. It helps that horror in general is as hot as ever at the box office, with the pre-summer movie season being absolutely dominated by record-breaking box office stories from the horror genre.
Not adjusted for inflation, the previous U.S. opening weekend high for the franchise was Scary Movie 4 with $49.7 million, with that installment released over 20 years ago in 2003. When talking worldwide totals, the highest grossing installment remains the original Scary Movie with $278 million back in 2000 (unadjusted for inflation), which will be the number to beat.
The reported production budget for Paramount’s new Scary Movie was just $30 million, ensuring that the franchise’s sixth installment will be turning a healthy profit in theaters.
Scary Movie is 24% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes and film’s CinemaScore was a C+, but the film is proving itself to be review-proof at the box office. Will the negative reviews tank the film in its first full week of release? We’ll report more on this box office story as the week progresses.
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite for the new Scary Movie, with the cast also including Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer (“Ghostface”), the Core Four are back in the killer’s crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe…
Scary Movie will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t. A whole lot has changed in the horror genre since the Wayans Brothers were in charge of the franchise; their involvement ended with Scary Movie 2 back in 2001!
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directed the new Scary Movie.
You must be logged in to post a comment.