Box Office Showdown: Weapons Debuts Strong, Freakier Friday Brings Nostalgia Boom, Fantastic Four Slumps, and More

The summer box office isn’t going quietly — it’s going out with a bang. This weekend served up a double feature knockout as Weapons sliced into the top spot with a killer $42.5M debut, while Freakier Friday swapped its way to a $29M laugh-fest opening.

Both flicks landed glowing CinemaScore grades (Weapons A-, Freakier Friday A), strong word-of-mouth, and the kind of audience buzz studios dream about as Labor Day weekend creeps closer.

Weapons: From Barbarian to Box Office Royalty

Writer-director Zach Cregger is on a tear. After shocking audiences in 2022 with the cult horror hit Barbarian, he’s back with Weapons — a twisty, eerie thriller about a rash of child disappearances.

• Budget: $38M
• Cast: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan.
• Studio: Warner Bros./New Line, which has been on a red-hot streak after Sinners, A Minecraft Movie, and Superman.

This win also sets the stage for Cregger’s next big project: a Resident Evil reboot 🎮.

👩‍👧 Freakier Friday: Lindsay & Jamie Lee, Back in the Game

Disney dusted off one of its most beloved family comedies and made it even freakier. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan slip right back into their mother-daughter body-swap roles like no time has passed since 2003.

• Budget: $42M
• Why it’s working: Nostalgia + sharp writing + genuine chemistry between its leads.
• Bonus: An A CinemaScore means this one could have serious staying power in the coming weeks.

🦸‍♂️ Fantastic Four: First Steps Hits a Slump

After a stellar $117.6M opening, Marvel’s latest superhero outing is dropping like a stone — down another 60% this weekend. Domestic total: $230M. Unless it pulls a late surge, Superman might outgross it.

🐺 The Bad Guys 2 Holds Steady, The Naked Gun Fires Again

• The Bad Guys 2: $10.4M in week two (-53% drop) → $43.4M total.
• The Naked Gun: $8.3M second weekend → $33M total.

✏️ Also Opening

Faith-based fantasy-comedy Sketch drew $2.5M in its debut for Angel Studios.

🎥 MainEvent.News | Backstage Take

This weekend’s numbers are a case study in how variety keeps the box office healthy. Horror fans got their edge-of-the-seat thrills, families got their nostalgia trip, and superhero fatigue reared its head (again) with Fantastic Four.
What’s most interesting? Warner Bros. has rebounded from a rough start to 2025 with a win streak that rivals its golden years. Meanwhile, Disney proved that well-timed legacy sequels still sell — when they’re actually good. Expect Weapons to hold strong through September and Freakier Friday to quietly build a global total that’ll make Mouse House accountants smile.

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