"Weapons" Fires First Shot in Box office, Outpaces "Freakier Friday"

The summer movie season may be winding down, but the weekend box office is still showing some heat — and Warner Bros. and New Line’s "Weapons" is currently leading the charge.

Opening in first place, the chilling thriller has already pulled in $18.2 million from Friday and early preview showings across 3,202 theaters. Not only does it occupy Imax screens and most premium large-format slots, but it also leaned into its own lore for marketing — beginning select showings Thursday at exactly 2:17 p.m., the eerie hour in which, according to the film’s plot, a group of children vanish without a trace.

The ensemble lineup boasts Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan. With an R rating and a $38 million production budget, “Weapons” is already slicing through early expectations, which topped out near $30 million. This is a massive leap from writer-director Zach Cregger’s previous horror hit Barbarian — a 2022 low-budget surprise that opened to $10 million and rode glowing word-of-mouth to quadruple that amount.

New Line nabbed the rights to Weapons after a heated bidding war, and the gamble is paying off. Critics have been enthusiastic, and audiences are matching that energy with a rare A- CinemaScore — a high mark for horror, which often scores much lower. Early signs suggest this one could have long legs well into September.

Meanwhile, Disney’s "Freakier Friday" is holding its own in second place, pulling in $12.7 million from 3,975 locations on Friday and previews. While it doesn’t have Imax, the PG-rated body-swap comedy is still grabbing some premium auditoriums. The sequel reunites Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis from the beloved 2003 remake, and pre-weekend projections between $27 million and $30 million now look entirely reachable — maybe even beatable. With a $42 million budget, glowing reviews, and a perfect A CinemaScore, it’s positioned to enjoy steady family-friendly appeal in the weeks ahead.

Sliding into third is Disney’s struggling superhero flick "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," which scraped together another $4.5 million on Friday — a steep 62% drop from last week’s Friday gross. After a 67% plunge in its second weekend, the MCU installment isn’t bouncing back. By Sunday, it should reach about $229 million domestically, making it the seventh-highest North American release of 2025 so far. That sounds nice until you realize it’s still just 26th among MCU movies overall, cementing Marvel’s recent downward box office trajectory.

In fourth, Universal’s "The Bad Guys 2" is headed for about $10.7 million in its second weekend, down 51% from its debut. That will bring its domestic haul to $43.7 million in 10 days, almost identical to the original’s pace in 2022 — which ultimately topped out at $97 million.

Rounding out the top five, Paramount’s "The Naked Gun" remake (starring Liam Neeson) earned $2.3 million on Friday, tracking for about $8.4 million in its second frame — a 50% dip from opening weekend. Its total should hit $33 million by Sunday.

Elsewhere, Angel Studios quietly debuted the fantasy-comedy "Sketch" on Wednesday in 2,006 theaters. After a Toronto Film Festival premiere last year, the studio picked it up and has earned $3.2 million so far, which should be enough for a 10th-place finish.