Why Scary Movie is making millions at the box office despite being panned by critics

The $55 million opening for “Scary Movie” is sparking a debate over how Black-oriented spoof film properties — specifically those by the Wayans brothers — are received by film reviewers versus how they ultimately perform at the box office.

“Scary Movie” blew well past its $40 million tracking prediction, and yet received an anemic 25% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. That 25% rating is actually high compared to previous Wayans family films and the delta between what Rotten Tomatoes thinks of the Wayans and what the filmgoing public thinks is pretty consistent.

Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans on the “Scary Movie” set. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

The 2004 comedy “White Chicks” grossed $113.1 million but received a 15% fresh rating, while their 2006 comedy “Little Man” grossed $104 million worldwide but received a 12% Tomatometer score. Their 1996 comedy “Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juicein the Hood” grossed $21 million with a budget of just $3.8 million, but only got a 32% score.

“Yall don’t wanna open this can of worms on how critics perceive black led comedy film versus white led ones,” wrote one “X” user responding to a post showing that “The Naked Gun” reboot received a 87% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes with the message, “I do NOT wanna hear the ‘critics hate fun’ debate.”

“Scary Movie” stars Anna Faris and Regina Hall. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

One exec told P6H of the success of “Scary Movie” last weekend: “I’m not saying these are great movies, but at a certain point you have to wonder whether the reviewers are actually in touch with what people are interested in going to see.”