Welcome back Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. It seems that despite positive word of mouth, it is difficult to get people to flock to a stylish fantasy action blockbuster based on an IP that hasn't had a live-action adaptation in decades. Masters of the Universe proved as much when it debuted to $54.3 million at the global box office (via Box Office Mojo).
$50 million is a lot of money, but the issue is that the studio spent a lot more on it, as Masters of the Universe's budget was around $170 million. That means that Masters of the Universe is really going to have to hold its ground if it wants to be in the green from its box office performance. In that case, it may want to take lessons from Curry Barker's Obsession, which in its latest week at the box office continued to rake in millions of dollars, surpassing $200 million globally. On a budget of $750,000, this makes it likely to end up as one of the most profitable movies of all time.
A24's Backrooms also crossed the $200 million threshold over the weekend, making it officially A24's best performing movie of all time. Elsewhere in the horror or horror-adjacent space, we also see Scary Movie 6 doing well on its debut, raking in more than $100 million globally.
The ball for Backrooms and Obsession will have to end at some point, but it feels like it shows us clearly how a movie's budget can be as big as it wants, but that doesn't mean it's guaranteed to draw in a crowd.