diff --git a/libavcodec/msmpeg4.c b/libavcodec/msmpeg4.c
index 3b40c835b1..0dba8d9c35 100644
--- a/libavcodec/msmpeg4.c
+++ b/libavcodec/msmpeg4.c
@@ -1279,7 +1279,8 @@ av_cold int ff_msmpeg4_decode_init(AVCodecContext *avctx)
     int i;
     MVTable *mv;
 
-    ff_h263_decode_init(avctx);
+    if (ff_h263_decode_init(avctx) < 0)
+        return -1;
 
     common_init(s);