Topline
Zach Cregger’s horror feature “Weapons” held strong at the domestic box office to maintain the No. 1 spot for its second weekend—but 2025’s latest horror hit remains a ways off from catching “Sinners” for the title of top horror film at the box office this year.
The cast of “Weapons” appear at the film’s world premiere.
Variety via Getty Images
Key Facts
“Weapons” reportedly posted $26 million in its second weekend, a decline of 40% over its second weekend compared with its first—a strong showing on the higher side of projections from Box Office Pro before the weekend.
“Weapons” also grossed an impressive $5.7 million in previews—outpacing early screenings for other 2025 horror hits including “Sinners” and “Final Destination Bloodlines.”
“Weapons,” an original horror film starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin and Alden Ehrenreich, opened last weekend with $43.5 million—a strong opening, but behind the $48 million opening weekend for “Sinners” in April ($55.8 million including the extra day for Easter weekend) and the $51.6 million for “Final Destination Bloodlines” in May.
“Sinners” ended up grossing $278.5 million over its domestic theatrical run, while “Final Destination Bloodlines” grossed $138 million at domestic theaters over its run.
How Did Other Horror Films Fare In Their Second Weekends?
“Final Destination Bloodlines,” the sixth installment in the horror franchise, dropped 62% its second weekend, only grossing $19.3 million.“Sinners” held much stronger for its second weekend—the thriller starring Michael B. Jordan only posted a 4.8% decline for $45.7 million.
Key Background
“Sinners” was the first original story filmmaker Ryan Coogler directed after his wild success with established franchises (2015’s “Creed,” 2018’s “Black Panther” and 2022’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”). The buzz behind “Sinners” quickly pushed the film to beat out “A Minecraft Movie,” one of the biggest-selling family movies of the year that debuted only three weeks earlier, and propelled both the film’s score and soundtrack to chart positions.Weapons has largely benefited from a viral marketing campaign that captured viewers’ attention—distributor Warner Bros. posted a two-hour-plus clip of “found footage” on YouTube, with the campaign also including an early Internet-inspired website that features information about the disappearance of the 17 fictional children the film depicts.
How Did Other Films Do This Weekend?
“Freakier Friday,” the Lindsay Lohan-Jamie Lee Curtis comedy that opened alongside “Weapons” last weekend landed second at the domestic box office, grossing about $14.5 million for a 50% second weekend drop. “Nobody 2,” the sequel to the 2021 action film about a retired hitman starring sketch comedy icon Bob Odenkirk, only grossed about $9.2 million to come in third on its opening weekend—still a minor step up from the $6.8 million the original grossed before the end of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions in many states. “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” remained in fourth place with $8.8 million in box office sales—a steep drop from its $117 million opening in July.
Surprising Fact
Although Sydney Sweeney’s recent controversial ad for American Eagle caught the attention of President Donald Trump and caused the retailer’s stock to surge, the actress’s recent notoriety did not translate to better box office sales for her film debuting this weekend. “Americana,” a crime drama that premiered at South by Southwest in 2023, was acquired by Lionsgate and given a limited release this weekend. The film, which also stars the singer-songwriter Halsey, received middle-of-the-road reviews from critics and barely made a dent with $500,000 in sales from 1,100 theaters.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2025/08/17/weapons-dominates-box-office-for-second-weekend-heres-how-it-stacks-up-against-other-horror-hits/