Box office previews highlight a crowded weekend

Two new films hit theatres as previews show strong interest, setting up a tense weekend for box office.

Weapons Leads Previews as Freakier Friday Opens Strong

Weapons pulls ahead in Thursday previews with 5.7 million dollars, while Freakier Friday starts with 3.1 million dollars. Industry forecasts put Freakier Friday at about 27 to 30 million for the weekend and Weapons at 25 to 30 million, with Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps aiming for 18 to 20 million in its third weekend. The competition underscores a busy window for theaters and a test for mid budget horror and nostalgia driven comedy.

Freakier Friday budgets set at 42 million and Weapons at 38 million, with star power from Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis in the former and a horror ensemble led by Josh Brolin, Julia Garner and Alden Ehrenreich in the latter. The body swap premise returns with more family ties and familiar faces, while the horror title leverages a community impact angle as disappearances spark investigation. The weekend unfolds against a crowded slate that also includes a new Marvel installment, revealing how mid budget bets fare against blockbuster expectations.

The lineup shows two distinct bets on audience habits. A nostalgia driven comedy aims for broad appeal through a familiar cast and a light premise, while a horror entry leans on claustrophobic tension and a compact production budget. The numbers suggest studios expect solid theatre attendance even in a season where streaming options compete for attention. Yet the mixed signals from Marvel’s sequence and the third weekend of Fantastic Four highlight the fragility of momentum in a crowded market. The result could influence how studios price and time mid budget bets in the months ahead.

Highlights

The weekend will reveal where mid budget bets stand in a shifting box office landscape.