‘Weapons' Poised To Upset ‘Freakier Friday' At Weekend Box Office

Forbes

14 hours ago

Julia Garner and Josh Brolin's horror thriller Weapons is projected to upset Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan's comedy 'Freakier Friday' at the domestic box office this weekend.
Both films are new in theaters this weekend and are delivering a one-two punch to The Fantastic Four: First Steps to knock the Disney-Marvel Studios film out of the No. 1 spot after two weeks.
Directed by Barbarian filmmaker Zach Cregger, Weapons is projected by Deadline to make $38 million from 3,202 North American theaters though Sunday, with an estimated $17 million of that total coming from Friday's box office — which includes $5.7 million in Thursday previews.
Meanwhile, Freakier Friday — the long-awaited Disney sequel to the 2003 body switch comedy starring Curtis and Lohan as mother and daughter— is projected by Deadline to gross $30 million from 3,975 North American theaters.
Released by Warner Bros. subsidiary New Line Cinema, Weapons' projected gross is surprising, especially since it's an R-rated film, which limits its potential audience.
On top of that, Weapons was projected to finish behind the PG-rated Freakier Friday by most top industry publications in its opening weekend.
While Deadline had the films neck-and-neck with projections for each to open with $30 million in domestic ticket sales, The Hollywood Reporter forecast a $28 million opening for Freakier Friday and $25 million opening for Weapons.
Box Office Pro, meanwhile, pegged a $35 million to $45 million opening frame for Freakier Friday and had Weapons coming in second with a projected take of $25 million to $30 million domestically.
Deadline said Freakier Friday made $12 million on its opening day on Friday, including Thursday previews.
'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Slides To No. 3
Following a disastrous 67% drop in business from its opening weekend to its second frame last week, Disney and Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps is stumbling to the No. 3 spot on the domestic chart his weekend.
After a $5 million Friday from 3,600 North American venues, Deadline is projecting a $16 million to $18 million third weekend for The Fantastic Four.
If the projection holds, it will up the film's running domestic tally to $231 million to $233 million for the weekend.
Universal Studios and DreamWorks Animation's animated adventure The Bad Guys 2 is projected by Deadline to earn $10.5 million from 3,860 North American theaters this weekend. If the forecast holds, it will bring the film's running tally to $43.5 million.
Paramount Pictures' reboot/sequel of the comedy film series The Naked Gun is projected by Deadline to earn $8.1 million in its second weekend from 3,363 locations.
If the projection holds, it will boost the Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson action comedy's running domestic tally to $32.4 million since the film's Aug. 1 opening.
Note: This box office report will be updated throughout the weekend with the most recent numbers as they become available. The final numbers for this weekend's box office will be released on Monday.