Weapons smokes the competition with $42.5 million U.S. opening, marking another horror win at the...

Zach Cregger's followup to 2022's breakout &34;Barbarian&34; becomes the third horrorthriller to break out this year, after &34;Sinners&34; and &34;Final Destin

Zach Cregger's follow-up to 2022's breakout "Barbarian" becomes the third horror-thriller to break out this year, after "Sinners" and "Final Destination Bloodlines."

Weapons smokes the competition with $42.5 million U.S. opening, marking another horror win at the 2025 box office

Zach Cregger's follow-up to 2022's breakout "Barbarian" becomes the third horror-thriller to break out this year, after "Sinners" and "Final Destination Bloodlines."

By Ryan Coleman

Published on August 10, 2025 06:12PM EDT

Leave a Comment

Julia Garner as Justine in 'Weapons'. Credit:

Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

Point, aim, destroy.

*Weapons *emerged as the decisive victor at this weekend's box office shootout. The enigmatic chiller was against the fearsome Disney twosome of *Freakier Friday*, which was the beneficiary of a remarkably long publicity rollout, and *The Fantastic Four: First Steps*, which was Marvel's primary attempt at a tentpole flick this summer. *Weapons* not only grabbed the brass ring with ease, but nearly outgrossed the aforementioned films' *combined earnings *at the weekend box office.

Zach Cregger's highly anticipated follow-up to his 2022 breakout *Barbarian *grossed $42.5 million domestically and $70 million globally in its premiere weekend, per Comscore. Even after marketing costs are factored into the film's estimated budget of $38 million, *Weapons *has both feet firmly planted on a path to gross major profits for Warner Bros., which is celebrating its seventh box office gold this year.

A reunion two decades in the making for Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan and the beloved Marvel comics team's first headlining feature since 2015 were no match for the missing-child mystery. *Freakier Friday *grossed $29 million domestically and $44.5 million globally in its premiere, while *Fantastic Four *fell as expected in week 3, with a $15.5 million domestic take (earning it the No. 3 spot), and $33 million globally (No. 5).

Lindsay Lohan in 'Freakier Friday' and Pedro Pascal in 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps'.

*Weapons*' success validates the thinking behind Warner's big gamble on Cregger. In 2023, the studio's New Line Cinema subsidiary shelled out nearly $40 million to win the rights to Cregger's sophomore feature after the runaway success of his twisty, low-budget debut. Cregger's directing fee alone was $5 million, and the 44-year-old American filmmaker, who also produced this year's AI horror *Companion*, netted another $5 million for co-writing the film.

That's no small sum for such a newly discovered talent, which makes *Weapons*' coup not just great news for Cregger and Warners, but for the horror genre at large. *Weapons *follows *Sinners *and *Final Destination Bloodlines *to become the year's third horror title to dominate the box office — if you don't also count the thriller-comedy *Novocaine *taking the top spot in March or *Jurassic World Rebirth *roaring to No. 1 in July. That two of those three horror titles were based on original material bodes well for a genre perpetually seen as an underdog both critically and commercially.

'Fantastic Four' wins in week 2 at domestic box office, besting 'The Bad Guys 2' and 'The Naked Gun'

'Weapons' ending breakdown: Unpacking those twisty, off-the-rails revelations

Elsewhere in the domestic and global leaderboards this weekend were the animated family comedy *The Bad Guys 2 *and the very much not family-friendly comedy reboot *The Naked Gun*, starring new super-couple Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson. The former film took the No. 4 spot domestically with a $10.4 million gross, while the latter finished at No. 5 with $8.3 million. Globally, *The Bad Guys 2 *fell to No. 8 with a $19.6 million week two take, while several rising international titles buried *The Naked Gun*.

The Chinese historical drama *Dead to Rights*, which takes a narrative look at the 1937-1938 Nanjing Massacre, remains a competitive contender, scoring the third slot on the global leaderboard after *Weapons *and *Freakier Friday *with a $41.5 million take. After three weeks in just China, Hong Kong, and Macao, *Dead to Rights *expanded to a mere two additional international markets — Australia and New Zealand — bringing its global gross to $306.6 million. *Fantastic Four*, by comparison, currently boasts $434.2 million globally after three weeks, but across 53 markets.

*Superman* and *Jurassic World Rebirth *both remain in the fight in their fifth and sixth weekends at the box office, respectively. James Gunn's spandex-clad super flick now touts $331.2 million domestically after a $7.8 million take this week, while Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, and Mahershala Ali helped boost the franchise's seventh installment to $326.8 million domestically after a $4.7 million take.**

There are plenty of contenders to watch for in next week's new releases, but none that seem likely to disarm *Weapons*.

Matilda Lutz is bringing the Marvel heroine to life in *Red Sonja*, being atypically released on a Wednesday rather than the traditional Friday slot, clearing the way for *Nobody 2*, a sequel to Bob Odenkirk's 2021 dark action comedy. Finally, Spike Lee will bow *Highest 2 Lowest*, the Akira Kurosawa remake that he anticipates will be his final collaboration with star Denzel Washington.

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL Movies"

Read More

---

Source: Astro Blog

Full Article on Source: Astro Blog

#LALifestyle #USCelebrities