Horror at the Box Office: ‘Weapons’ Runs Back To #1
Weapons continued to blast the competition in its second weekend, repeating at #1 with an estimated $25 million. The eerie mystery thriller joins Sinners as the only 2025 horror movies to achieve back to back weeks at the top of the box office.
The movie declined only 43% from its opening weekend, an excellent hold for a horror film. It’s now earned $89 million domestically and nearly $150 million worldwide on a budget of $38 million.
Positive word of mouth has bolstered Weapons, just as it did with Sinners. Releasing this movie in August, when the summer movie season is winding down, was a smart move.
August has long been a notorious theatrical dumping ground, a month when studios quietly release movies they expect to perform poorly. The big budget summer popcorn flicks have already come and gone, kids are going back to school, and studios are gearing up for the fall awards season.
Sometimes, this results in an unexpected gem becoming a sleeper hit. The lack of competition has allowed Weapons to flourish. There is talk of a potential prequel.
Weapons was the only horror movie in the top ten. Together and I Know What You Did Last Summer managed to hang around in the top 15. Together grossed just over $1 million for a total of about $19.7 million and IKWYDLS made $532,000 for a cume of approximately $32 million.
The Witchboard remake received a limited indie release and grossed $197,000, landing in 17th place. Reviews are decent, but I don’t think there’s ever been much demand for another Witchboard movie. It might find more success on streaming. The 1986 original didn’t make much in theaters, either.
I covered the first Witchboard, which stars the late Tawny Kitaen as a young woman who is tormented by an evil spirit who she communicates with through an Ouija board, in my Tubi horror movies article.
Up Next
Can Weapons threepeat at the box office? It certainly looks possible. Sinners is the only ’25 horror movie to earn three weekends in a row at the top.
Remember how I mentioned that this month is a traditional dumping ground in the movie business? That goes double for late August. The only wide releases next weekend are the romcom The Map That Leads to You and the crime thriller Honey Don’t.
It’s possible that either might become a sleeper hit. But if the studios that made them really thought these movies were any good, they wouldn’t be releasing them at this time of year.
Hellhouse LLC: Lineage hits theaters starting August 20th, in a limited release. It’ll be interesting to see how it performs, since it’s the first Hellhouse installment to get a theatrical release. Due to its niche audience, it shouldn’t provide much serious competition for Weapons.
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