“Weapons,” a twisty horror film about a group of missing children, and “Freakier Friday,” a body swap comedy, delivered a potent one-two punch at the box office this weekend, lifting ticket sales as summer movie season draws to a close.
The films captured the top two spots on the charts, with “Weapons” debuting to $42.5 million and “Freakier Friday” premiering to $29 million. Last weekend’s champ, Disney and Marvel’s “Fantastic Four: The First Steps,” surrendered its box office crown, earning $15.5 million in its third weekend of release for a third place finish. After starting strong with a $117.6 million bow, “Fantastic Four” has plummeted in subsequent weekends, falling more than 67% in its sophomore frame and another 60% over the past weekend. The superhero film has grossed $230 million domestically and will likely earn less money that “Superman,” the latest comic book adaptation from its rival DC Films.
“Weapons” extends a hot streak for Warner Bros., which released the film through its New Line label. The studio started 2025 with bombs like “Mickey 17” and “The Alto Knights,” but regained its stride with last spring’s “Sinners” and “A Minecraft Movie” and this summer’s “Superman.” Made for $38 million, “Weapons” is writer-director Zach Cregger’s follow-up to the critically acclaimed “Barbarian,” which was released by 20th Century Studios in 2022 and earned a solid $45.4 million. Cregger’s latest film stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan. Its success should catapult him to the top of the filmmaking ranks; Cregger has already been enlisted to reboot “Resident Evil.”
Disney released “Freakier Friday,” a follow-up to the hit 2003 film “Freaky Friday,” bringing back original stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother and daughter who trade places. With a production budget of $42 million, the family film is off to a strong start. Both “Weapons” and “Freakier Friday” benefitted from strong reviews and word-of-mouth, earning an “A-” and an “A” grade from CinemaScore, respectively. That could set them up nicely for repeat business over the coming weeks.
In fourth place, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Bad Guys 2″ picked up $10.4 million in its sophomore outing, a 53% from its opening. That will push the animated sequel’s domestic total to $43.4 million. Its predecessor ended its run with $97 million in North America.
And “The Naked Gun,” the final release of Paramount’s old regime after the studio’s acquisition by Skydance closed earlier this week, rounded out the top five. The action satire, which stars Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, picked up $8.3 million in its second weekend, bringing its North American haul to $33 million.
Among other new wide releases, Angel Studios, which specializes in faith-based programming, premiered the fantasy comedy “Sketch” to $2.5 million.
variety.com
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