Box Office Blowout: ‘Weapons’ Dominates with $18.2M Opening, ‘Freakier Friday’ Trails at $12.7M!

“As the summer blockbuster season draws to a close, ‘Weapons’ is taking the lead at the box office, outperforming ‘Freakier Friday’ despite both films having strong openings.”

Warner Bros. and New Line’s ‘Weapons’ debuted at the top, pulling in $18.2 million from Friday and preview showings across 3,202 theaters. The movie benefits from being shown in Imax and other premium large format screens. Special previews started on Thursday at 2:17 pm, a time that aligns with a pivotal moment in the film where a group of children simultaneously wake up and vanish under mysterious circumstances. The cast features notable actors such as Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan.

‘The horror film is now set to far exceed its initial weekend forecasts, which had it pegged at about $30 million. This is an impressive debut for the R-rated film, which was made on a budget of $38 million. It marks a significant leap from Zach Cregger’s previous film, ‘Barbarian,’ which was produced by Disney’s 20th Century Studios and opened to $10 million in 2022, eventually grossing $40 million largely due to positive word-of-mouth. Cregger, originally known from the sketch group The Whitest Kids U’ Know, is quickly making a name for himself in the horror genre.

After a fierce bidding war, New Line acquired ‘Weapons,’ and their faith in the project has secured another summer box office hit for Warner Bros. The film received strong reviews from critics and an encouraging ‘A-‘ grade from CinemaScore, a survey firm that polls moviegoers. Given that horror films typically receive lower ratings, these high scores suggest ‘Weapons’ might enjoy prolonged success, similar to Cregger’s ‘Barbarian.’

Disney’s ‘Freakier Friday’ also had a strong start, earning $12.7 million from Friday and preview showings in 3,975 theaters. While ‘Weapons’ was shown in Imax theaters, ‘Freakier’ was screened in other premium formats. This comedy sequel is a follow-up to the popular 2003 remake ‘Freaky Friday,’ once again featuring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis in their iconic roles. It looks set to surpass its initial projections of $27 million to $30 million.

With a production budget of $42 million, the PG-rated ‘Freakier Friday’ is off to a promising start, bolstered by positive reviews and an excellent ‘A’ grade from CinemaScore, indicating strong potential for the remainder of the summer.

Meanwhile, Disney’s ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ has slipped to third place, adding $4.5 million on Friday, a 62% drop from the previous week. The superhero film seems poised for another significant decline after a 67% drop in its second week. Now in its third week, this Marvel Cinematic Universe entry is projected to reach a $229 million total in North America by Sunday. Despite recently surpassing ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ at $200 million to become the seventh highest-grossing domestic release this year, it remains only the 26th highest earner in the MCU roster, reflecting a downtrend from Marvel’s peak box office years.

In fourth place, Universal’s ‘The Bad Guys 2’ has generated an additional $3 million on Friday, aiming for a $10.7 million total in its second weekend, a 51% drop from its debut. The DreamWorks Animation sequel is on track to accumulate a $43.7 million domestic total over its first 10 days, slightly behind the 2022 original, which had made $44 million at the same point and ultimately grossed $97 million in North America.

Paramount’s ‘The Naked Gun,’ the last film released under the studio’s previous management before its acquisition by Skydance, rounds out the top five. The Liam Neeson comedy brought in an additional $2.3 million on Friday, with weekend projections of $8.4 million, a 50% decrease from its opening. Its domestic total is expected to reach $33 million by Sunday.

Also new this weekend, Angel Studios launched the fantasy comedy ‘Sketch’ in 2,006 theaters on Wednesday. Acquired after its premiere at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, ‘Sketch’ has so far earned $3.2 million and is expected to finish the weekend in tenth place.