Disney’s much-hyped sequel Freaky Friday, Freakier Friday, is shaping up to be less of an event than the studio might have hoped, with the family-friendly comedy getting blown away at the box office by Zack Cregger’s Weapons. Earlier this week, I predicted Freakier Friday would open around $30 million—and I was right. Many others pegged it in the $40–50 million range, which struck me as nonsense. Meanwhile, Weapons, which I figured would make a solid $25 million in second place, is on track for a massive $40 million debut (according to Deadline), taking the top spot.
So, what’s going on? Simply put, audiences are intrigued by Weapons. It’s earning some of the best reviews of the year (we loved it) and has quickly become a must-see, “water-cooler” movie. Notably, it has an A– CinemaScore—extremely rare for a horror film. Typically, hit horror movies land in the B range, with most scoring in the C’s. The only recent horror films to reach the A range are Ryan Coogler’s Sinners and Jordan Peele’s Get Out. With a score like that, word of mouth for Weapons will be stellar, making it likely to hold the top spot for much of the summer, with $100 million well within reach.
What does this prove? That studios shouldn’t shy away from making high-quality, big-budget horror. As I noted in my Weapons review, horror is often produced on the cheap, with the assumption that the genre has a built-in box office ceiling. Sinners and Weapons show otherwise—Weapons especially recalls the prestige horror of the 1970s, including The Exorcist.
Meanwhile, Fantastic Four’s sharp decline continues, dropping another 60% this weekend to around $15 million (prompting this thinkpiece by our man Tyler). The Naked Gun is showing steadier legs, falling about 50% in week two—respectable, though not spectacular. It should finish just behind The Bad Guys 2 when the weekend wraps.
We’ll be back with a full report tomorrow.
