As the late summer box office gets underway, two films are leading the charge: Disney’s body-swapping comedy Freakier Friday and New Line’s acclaimed mystery-comedy Weapons.
These August releases are anticipated to engage in a tight race for the top spot domestically, potentially displacing Marvel Studios’ struggling holdover, The Fantastic Four: The First Steps.
Despite Disney and Marvel’s hopes for a rebound with Fantastic Four, early forecasts suggest an uncertain outlook.
In the horror genre, the need for a strong performance is palpable, especially after recent disappointments like Blumhouse and Atomic Monsters’ M3GAN 2.0, which opened to only $10 million in June and ultimately grossed $40 million worldwide, a stark contrast to the $180 million earned by its predecessor.
New Line’s Weapons, which currently holds an impressive 96 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, grossed $5.7 million during its preview screenings.
Originally projected for a domestic debut in the range of $25 million to $30 million, there are indications it may surpass those expectations.
The film drew considerable attention during its initial market release, culminating in a bidding war that resulted in New Line and its parent company Warner Bros. securing the project for $38 million, which included a $10 million payday for director Zach Cregger.
Known for his previous film Barbarian, Cregger has crafted another original story with Weapons, which focuses on a teacher, played by Julia Garner, who discovers that 17 out of the 18 children in her class have vanished simultaneously at 2:17 a.m.
Also featuring Josh Brolin as a father on a desperate quest to find his missing child, the film intertwines themes of grief and mystery.
Supporting performances come from Aden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, and Amy Madigan.
Weapons will be shown on coveted Imax screens, with Imax set to re-release the summer hit 51: The Movie this weekend before expanding its showings next week.
On the other hand, Freakier Friday is ready to tap into nostalgia, targeting family audiences with its brand of humor.
The family comedy reunites Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis 23 years after the iconic Freaky Friday debuted.
Freakier Friday generated $3.1 million in previews, including special sneaks on Wednesday, placing it on par with notable recent releases such as Elvis, The Most Recent Mean Girls, and The Lost City, all of which similarly opened in the $28 million to $31 million range domestically.
With a 94 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film stands to capitalize on audience memory and affection for its predecessor.
Directed by Nisha Ganatra, this $42 million budgeted film continues the story of Tess and her mother from the original film, as they swap places with their respective daughter and soon-to-be stepdaughter.
The cast also includes Julia Butters, Sophia Hammons, Manny Jacinto, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Rosalind Chao, Chad Michael Murray, Vanessa Bayer, and Mark Harmon.
Freakier Friday, a continuation of a beloved franchise that began with the 1976 film, is based on the book by Mary Rodgers.
Disney has found considerable success in leveraging nostalgia to engage young adults in their 20s and 30s, many of whom grew up with earlier iterations from its film library.
For instance, the upcoming live-action movie Lilo & Stitch, based on the 2002 animated classic, has become the only Hollywood release of 2025 to clear the $1 billion mark, appealing to both family audiences and younger adults without children.
Across Hollywood, studio executives are becoming increasingly worried that comedies have lost their charm in the streaming age.
Yet, last weekend, Paramount’s Naked Gun reboot stood out by opening at nearly $17 million domestically, suggesting there may still be an audience for laugh-out-loud cinema.
While Naked Gun leans more toward straightforward comedy, the success of both it and Freakier Friday is essential for the genre as a whole.
In summary, as these two films hit theaters, all eyes will be on the box office to see which reigns supreme.
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