Warner Bros.’ original horror mystery Weapons claimed No. 1 at the weekend box office, edging Disney’s Freakier Friday. Both titles opened wide, with Weapons bowing to $42.5 million and Freakier Friday landing at $29.0 million. Pre-release tracking had generally favored the higher-profile Jamie Lee-Curtis and Lindsay Lohan sequel.
Still, interest in Zach Cregger’s follow-up to Barbarian surged in the final two weeks, and the film capitalized on IMAX and other PLF access once Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ two-week large-format commitments expired.
The two solid August launches drove total weekend grosses to $131.0 million, versus $157.7 million on the comparable frame last year, when Deadpool and Wolverine delivered $53.8 million in its third weekend and Sony’s It Ends with Us opened to $50.1 million.
Superman vs. Fantastic Four: The Relaunch Scorecard
In this summer’s marquee franchise reset, DC’s Superman continues to outpace Marvel’s Fantastic Four. After 17 days, the Man of Steel sits at $289.2 million domestic versus $230.4 million for First Steps. The DC title led each of the first three weekends, opening to $125 million versus $117.6 million for First Steps.
Weekend two brought in $58.4 million (-53%) compared to $40 million (-66%), and weekend three was $24.9 million (-58%) versus $15.5 million (-60%). Budgets are $225 million (DC) and $200 million (Marvel). Rotten Tomatoes currently shows critics at 83% versus 86%, and audiences at 91% for both.
Top Five
1) Weapons — $42.5M opening; ~$70M worldwide
Zach Cregger’s follow-up to Barbarian arrives as a late-summer breakout. Conceived after a personal loss, the multi-perspective mystery centers on the simultaneous 2:17 a.m. disappearance of 17 third graders, escalating from suburban unease to overtly supernatural territory.
Julia Garner stars as the teacher of the missing class, with Josh Brolin as a father drawn into the search. Reviews are strong (95% critics; 87% audiences). With a $38 million budget and a theatrical-first strategy guaranteed during the script bidding war, its domestic opening has already surpassed production cost and outpaced Barbarian’s entire global run.
2) Freakier Friday — $29M opening; ~$44.5M worldwide
Disney’s third Freaky Friday installment brings back Curtis and Lohan under director Nisha Ganatra. The sequel’s opening tops the 2003 remake’s Friday–Sunday debut ($22.1 million), though the earlier film opened Wednesday for a $33.1 million five-day total. This version adds a four-way body swap, earning a 73% critics score and an impressive 93% audience score. With a $42 million budget, break-even looks attainable if word of mouth holds.
3) The Fantastic Four: First Steps — $15.5M, weekend three (-60%)
Seventeen days in, First Steps sits at $230.4 million domestic / $434.2 million worldwide. On a $200 million budget, it’s on track for around $275 million domestic and $500 million global before ancillaries.
4) The Bad Guys 2 — $10.4M, weekend two (-53%)
Ten-day totals are $43.4 million domestic / $84 million worldwide. The sharper second-weekend drop compared to the first film could impact legs.
5) The Naked Gun (2025) — $8.4M, weekend two (-50%)
Ten-day totals are $33 million domestic / $56.4 million worldwide. The drop is steeper than past entries, but this is the first with international distribution, giving it more upside abroad.
Market Context
Year-to-date through August 7, 2025, the domestic box office is tracking at 108% of 2024 and 76% of 2019.
Lexi Carson covers the buzziest campaigns, brand beefs, and streaming shake-ups. She’s known for her razor-sharp takes, obsession with 90s ad jingles, and a red bob that’s never once missed a deadline.
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