“Weapons” isn’t dropping the ball in week two—it’s tightening its grip on the top spot with an impressively modest slide and substantial audience carryover for an original horror film.
Warner Bros./New Line’s mystery-horror from writer-director Zach Cregger added an estimated $7.4 million on its second Friday, pacing toward a $22–$25 million sophomore weekend and retaining No.1 over new competition, including Nobody 2. Industry trackers peg the two-week domestic cume in the high-$80 millions by Sunday, with worldwide already past $100 million after week one.
“Weapons remains in first, adding another $7.4 million on Friday,” as it slides roughly 40% from opening day—a standout sophomore hold for the genre.
What’s driving the momentum
Cregger’s follow-up to Barbarian plays as a multi-threaded, small-town nightmare—part mystery, part grief study—with an ensemble led by Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, and Alden Ehrenreich. Critics have highlighted the film’s audacious structure and bravura set pieces: The New York Times praised its “grabber opening and a shocker of a finale” that makes you “laugh-gasp” at the audacity of the staging and editing.
Cregger has cited David Fincher’s advice and nods to Magnolia in shaping the novelistic, chapter-driven form that hops perspectives and then closes each “chapter” for good.
Second-week box office at a glance
- Second Friday: $7.4 million
- Projected second weekend: ~$22–$25 million
- Estimated two-week domestic total: ~high-$80M by Sunday
- Worldwide (after week one): $100M+
Deadline’s modeling called a -49% Friday-to-Friday trend and a ~$22 million second weekend, while Variety and ScreenRant framed a gentler ~40–43% weekend decline—an above-average sophomore hold for R-rated horror, especially against multiple new releases.
Responses
For U.S. audiences, Weapons’ performance underscores two trends: elevated—but accessible—original horror remains box office-resilient, and mid-budget genre plays can still open and hold against sequels when they deliver a strong hook and word of mouth.
Cregger’s anthology-like structure gives the film rewatch appeal and conversation fuel, while star power and a clean August corridor help sustain momentum. If current trajectories hold, Weapons is positioned to clear $100M domestic—rare air for a non-franchise R-rated horror title in late summer.
Discussion