
Zach Cregger's ‘Weapons' Debuts to a Strong $42.5 Million USD for Box Office Opening Weekend
The horror genre continues to prove its box office might, as director Zach Cregger's latest film,Weapons, soared to an impressive $42.5 million USD in its North American debut. The film, a star-studded horror thriller, not only commanded the top spot at the domestic box office but also solidified Cregger's reputation as a genre filmmaker with a unique ability to deliver both critical praise and commercial success.
Released byWarner Bros. Pictures,Weaponsstars Oscar nomineeJosh Brolinin the lead role, alongside a strong ensemble cast. Its commanding opening weekend is particularly noteworthy as it follows Cregger's breakout 2022 hit,Barbarian, which became a sleeper success. This repeated performance at the box office suggests that Cregger is a filmmaker with a loyal following, and audiences are eager to see his original take on horror and suspense.
Weaponsis described as a multi-story horror epic, a narrative approach that Cregger used to great effect inBarbarian. The film's successful opening underscores that audiences are hungry for original, high-concept horror films, especially when they come from a director with a proven track record. This victory forWeaponssets a strong precedent for the genre and marks an exciting new chapter for Zach Cregger in Hollywood. Cregger's latest film stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan. Its success extends Warner Bros.' hot streak under its New Line label. Disney's body swap comedy sequelFreakier Fridayhit the second top spot on the charts this weekend, premiering to $29 million USD. ahead of Marvel'sThe Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
AMC beats estimates as blockbuster titles boost theater attendance
STORY: AMC Entertainment reported a more than 35% surge in second-quarter revenue on Monday, beating Wall Street expectations, as top U.S. blockbusters "A Minecraft Movie" and "Lilo & Stitch" brought bigger crowds to theaters. Shares of AMC ended almost 3.5% higher after reporting the results. The theater chain said moviegoers' attendance jumped nearly 26%. The film industry worldwide has benefited from a recovering box office and growing consumer demand for premium moviegoing experiences. Warner Bros Discovery's video game-based film "A Minecraft Movie" grossed nearly $1 billion globally, helping the company report 55% growth in its studio unit and a surprise profit during the April to June period. AMC still reported a net loss of $4.7 million, but the rebound at the box office helped significantly narrow that figure from a nearly $33 million loss a year earlier.


Geek Tyrant
37 minutes ago
- Geek Tyrant
WEAPONS Director Reveals The Wild Alternate Ending That Never Made The Cut — GeekTyrant
Director Zach Cregger's latest horror film Weapons has been getting rave reviews, but it turns out audiences almost saw a very different, and much more brutal, finale. In a recent interview, Cregger opened up about an alternate ending he had planned before deciding it just didn't fit. While talking to CBR, Cregger explained that he once envisioned a climactic showdown between Julia Garner's Justine Gandy and Amy Madigan's Gladys Lilly that would have turned the movie's final act into an all-out brawl. 'Yeah, I mean, I had an idea – this is kind of spoiler territory – but that Mrs. Gandy and the kid were gonna go and they were gonna get their ideas… they were gonna use the tree,' Cregger revealed, referencing the creepy flora that Gladys uses for her witchcraft. He went on to describe the scrapped finale, saying, 'And they were gonna go collect people to be their little army, and then they were gonna showdown with Gladys and her little army. So we would have a kind of a gang war at the end and I really thought that's where I was going to go.' Instead, the theatrical version of Weapons plays out very differently. The ending audiences saw had Cary Christopher's Alex sneaking into Gladys' room and performing the ritual he'd seen his great-aunt do countless times. This breaks her control over the children, leading to a vicious turn as they rise up and kill her. Cregger ultimately realized the alternate ending might have been overkill, and a lot longer than the movie needed. 'I realized like that movie would be so long and also not as cool,' he admitted. Given how well Weapons has been received since release, it seems his instincts were spot on. It's interesting to imagine what could have been with a witchcraft-fueled gang war between Garner and Madigan sounds like pure horror chaos, but the final cut was great and clearly struck the right chord with fans and critics alike.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
A Beatle's Haunting Song Sets the Mood at Start of New Horror Movie ‘Weapons'
A Beatle's Haunting Song Sets the Mood at Start of New Horror Movie 'Weapons' originally appeared on Parade. Much like how the new Superman movie closes with a hidden gem from Iggy Pop, the new No. 1 movie in the U.S.—Zach Cregger's mystery horror, Weapons—drops the needle on a deep cut from the past. But fans of The Beatles' solo work probably recognized it right away. Weaponsstars Josh Brolin, Julia Garner and Alden Ehrenreich. Its premise is summed up in its tagline: "Last night at 2:17 a.m. every child from Mrs. Gandy's class woke up, got out of bed, went downstairs, opened the front door, walked into the dark ... And they never came back." And what is the song that plays when those children go missing? George Harrison's "Beware of Darkness." "Beware of Darkness" comes from Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass, opening Side Three (aka the first track on the second LP). "Watch out now / Take care, beware of the thoughts that linger / Winding up inside your head," he sings on the second verse. "The hopelessness around you / In the dead of night / Beware of sadness." Harrison wrote about the origin of the song in his memoir, I, Me, Mine. "'Beware of Darkness' was written at home in England during a period when I had some of my friends from the Radha Krishna temple staying," he wrote. Harrison indicated that his guests had a saying: "Watch out for Māya." Per Britannica'ssummation, Māya is a "fundamental concept in Hindu philosophy," one that means that "a god can make human beings believe in what turns out to be an illusion." It later came to represent the "powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real," or the illusion that distracts a person from their true purpose. Harrison refers to Māya in the third verse: "As each unconscious sufferer / Wanders aimlessly / Beware of Māya." Harrison famously performed 'Beware of Darkness' at the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971, both during the afternoon and evening performances; the latter of which was included on the Concert for Bangladesh live album and the corresponding concert film. While many know "My Sweet Lord" as the big single from All Things Must Pass, Rolling Stoneonce considered "Beware of Darkness" the album's best song. "Musically enigmatic and strangely incomplete, it is both a warning and an affirmation," wrote author Ben Garson in 2011.A Beatle's Haunting Song Sets the Mood at Start of New Horror Movie 'Weapons' first appeared on Parade on Aug 11, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 11, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword