Weapons leads weekend box office

Zach Cregger's horror Weapons tops the weekend box office as Freakier Friday debuts strong, signaling a competitive late summer

Weapons Leads Weekend Box Office With $18 Million Opening

Weapons led the weekend box office with $18.2 million from Friday and previews at 3,202 locations, including Imax and other premium formats. Some previews began Thursday at 2:17 p.m. to align with a key moment in which children awaken and disappear. The film stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan, and carries a production budget of $38 million. The result surpasses early projections and signals a strong start for writer-director Zach Cregger after Barbarian, setting a positive tone for the late summer schedule.

Freakier Friday opened to $12.7 million across Friday and previews at 3,975 sites. The PG-rated comedy, produced for $42 million, stars Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis and has earned an A CinemaScore, a rare badge for a crowd-pleasing title. In third, The Fantastic Four: First Steps added $4.5 million on Friday, while The Bad Guys 2 posted $3 million and The Naked Gun added $2.3 million as Sketch expanded to 2,006 locations and has earned about $3.2 million so far. The weekend outlook remains hopeful for these titles, with a mid‑summer mood that favors familiar franchises and well-received premieres.

The weekend shows that genre titles still command a crowd, even as summer winds down. A horror entry anchored by a credible director and a known ensemble can outperform a larger, more expensive comedy, underscoring an audience appetite for bold storytelling and atmosphere. The strong CinemaScore for Weapons suggests durable word‑of‑mouth potential that could carry it through the coming weeks.

Behind the numbers, the mix of mid‑budget fright fare and proven sequels points to a cautious but resilient strategy in a crowded market. Premium formats and star-driven pulls help lift openings, but the long tail will depend on how word of mouth holds up and how studio expectations align with reality on the back end of the run. The MCU franchise, while still drawing attention, continues to face scrutiny over pace and profitability as newer titles enter the calendar.

Highlights

The weekend numbers offer a snapshot of a market that still rewards credible storytelling and timing.