"Firearms movie takes the lead in domestic box office sales, outperforming 'Another Friday's Oddity'"
In the realm of cinema, this weekend saw a significant shift as Zach Cregger's "Weapons" claimed the No. 1 spot at the box office, raking in an impressive $42.5 million domestically. This horror movie, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, surpassed the $100 million milestone worldwide in its first full week, a testament to its popularity.
The second spot was occupied by Disney's "Freakier Friday," a sequel to the 2003 release of "Freaky Friday." Despite being in its opening weekend, it managed to gross $29 million. Notably, when adjusted for inflation, "Freakier Friday" grossed an impressive $193.1 million domestically.
Meanwhile, "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," in its third week in theaters, saw a 60% drop in earnings from the previous week, grossing $15.5 million. The animated family film "Bad Guys 2" brought in $10.4 million.
The success of "Weapons" adds to the list of top-performing original horror movies of 2023. Among these, "Five Nights at Freddy's" leads by a large margin in total box office gross for original horror movies released in 2023. "Evil Dead Rise" and "Sinners," directed by Ryan Coogler, also performed exceptionally well, with "Sinners" earning $45.6 million in its opening weekend earlier this year.
Reviews for "Weapons" were overwhelmingly positive, with a 95% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. "Sinners," too, received 97% positive reviews. Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at Comscore, stated that Warner Bros. Pictures has a great formula for making big horror hits.
Interestingly, both "Weapons" and "Sinners" are part of Warner Bros. Discovery's portfolio, the parent company of CNN. Disney's next "biggest hitters," according to Shawn Robbins, are "Zootopia 2" on November 26 and "Avatar: Fire and Ash" opening December 19.
In the world of horror, it seems that well-reviewed, buzzworthy films like "Weapons" are proving to be a recipe for success at the box office. As we move forward, it will be exciting to see which films will continue to captivate audiences and dominate the cinema landscape.
[1]: Link to the box office records broken by Five Nights at Freddy's [2]: Link to the box office earnings of Evil Dead Rise [3]: Link to the box office earnings of Sinners [4]: Link to the box office earnings of Weapons [5]: Link to the box office earnings of 28 Years Later
- Given the success of "Weapons" and "Sinners," both being part of Warner Bros. Discovery's portfolio, it might be interesting to explore the entertainment division's winning strategy in the context of business and movie-making.
- As the popularity of well-reviewed horror films, such as "Weapons," continues to drive box office earnings, it would be intriguing to compare these numbers with top-grossing movies from other genres, like Disney's highly anticipated sequel "Zootopia 2" or the upcoming "Avatar: Fire and Ash."
