‘Weapons’ Gives Warner Bros. Another Outstanding No. 1 Opening

Warner Bros. found its sixth breakout hit in a row over the weekend, adding to one of the most remarkable studio turnarounds in Hollywood memory.

“Weapons,” an original horror movie from Warner’s New Line Cinema division, sold an estimated $42.5 million in tickets in the United States and Canada from Thursday night through Sunday, easily enough for the No. 1 spot, according to Comscore, which compiles box office data. “Weapons” cost at least $38 million to make, not including tens of millions of dollars in marketing costs – on the high side for an original, R-rated horror movie. New Line won a bidding war for the project in 2023.

The film took in an additional $27.5 million overseas, for a spectacular debut total of about $70 million. After one of the worst box office runs in its history, Warner Bros. flickered to life in April with “A Minecraft Movie,” which has been followed by “Sinners,” “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” “F1: The Movie,” “Superman” and now “Weapons.”

Directed and written by Zach Cregger, a fast-rising horror auteur, “Weapons” is about 17 children from the same third-grade class who mysteriously vanish into the night, leaving one classmate behind. “Weapons” received mostly exceptional reviews. Ticket buyers gave it an A-minus grade in CinemaScore exit polls.

For the weekend in North America, “Freakier Friday” was second. A sequel to a remake, the PG-rated movie took in an estimated $29 million, according to Comscore. (Overseas ticket buyers chipped in an additional $15.5 million). “Freakier Friday” cost Disney about $45 million to make, not including marketing. Reviews were squishy, but ticket buyers gave it an A grade, according to CinemaScore.

“Freakier Friday,” in which Lindsay Lohan returned to one of her signature movie roles, posted one of the biggest opening weekends for a mid-budget comedy in years. Paramount’s R-rated “Naked Gun” remake arrived to $16.8 million in ticket sales earlier this month, for instance.

Speaking of turnarounds: Lohan, whose career was derailed by addiction in the late 2000s but who is now sober, is on a roll of her own. Last year, she starred in two popular Netflix comedies. “Freakier Friday,” which also features Jamie Lee Curtis, gave Lohan her biggest box office opening weekend in a starring role since 2004, when “Mean Girls” sold $42.5 million in tickets in its first three days in theaters, after adjusting for inflation.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.