Weapons Dominates With $42.5 Million Debut, ‘Freakier Friday’ Starts Strong With $29 Million

Weapons, a horror film about a group of missing children, and Freakier Friday, a body swap comedy, delivered at the box office this weekend, lifting ticket sales as summer season draws to a close.

The films captured the top two spots on the charts. “Weapons” debuting to $42.5 million and “Freakier Friday” premiering to $29 million.

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” 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.

Warner Leads this Season

Weapons extends hot streak for Warner, 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 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 hired to reboot “Resident Evil.”

In fourth place, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Bad Guys 2″ picked up $10.4 million in its sophomore outing, 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.

“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.

Angel Studios, which specializes in faith-based programs, premiered the fantasy comedy “Sketch” to $2.5 million.

Weapons: Zach Cregger’s Horror Film about Missing Children, Tops Box-Office

Weapons Dominates With $42.5 Million Debut, ‘Freakier Friday’ Starts Strong With $29 Million

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