Weapons pᴀsses an important global box office milestone within three weeks of its release. The Zach Cregger-directed movie arrived in theaters on Aug. 8, featuring the star-studded cast of Julia Garner, Amy Madigan, Josh Brolin, and many others.
After a $43 million debut, ticket sales in the following week only declined 43%, a departure from the drastic fall that the horror genre is known for. As of Aug. 17, the movie had grossed $89 million domestically and $148 million in total. It heads into its third weekend in theaters this week.
According to Warner Bros., on Monday, Weapons generated an additional $2.9 million from the international markets, which is only a 33% fall from last week, and brings the movie’s international box office total to $63.7 million. Adding to its domestic earnings, Weapons has crossed the $155 million worldwide box office milestone during its second week in theaters.
What This Means For Weapons’ Box Office
Movies in the horror genre typically see a drop of 60% or more after a successful opening weekend. Danny Boyle’s sci-fi horror, 28 Years Later, opened to $60 million globally. However, the movie dropped 68% in its second week. Similarly, Final Destination Bloodlines had a mᴀssive opening weekend box office, generating $104 million worldwide. Its sophomore week then saw a 62.5% drop.
One recent exception from the genre’s second-week curse is Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, when the supernatural horror saw a remarkable 6% drop. Compared to other commercially successful horror movies, Weapons is proving to have a strong hold. Its continued success at the box office could also suggest a connection between original movies and more consistent performances.
Coogler’s Sinners was very well-received among critics and moviegoers. The movie has a critical approval rating of 97% and an audience approval of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Cregger’s mystery horror that follows the disappearance of 17 children on the same night sees a similar achievement, with a 94% critical score and an 86% audience score.
Our Take On Weapons’ Box Office
Sinners broke several box office records back when it was released. Not only did it become one of the highest-grossing original horror films, but also the highest-grossing live-action original film at the domestic box office in a decade. The supernatural horror movie had a slightly better opening weekend than Weapons, earning $48 million domestically.
In comparison to Weapons crossing the $155 million worldwide mark in only one week and a half, Sinners had grossed over $160 million after two weekends. At this rate, it will be a very close call between which of the two preeminent horror movies of 2025 earns more. This, of course, will likely depend on the latter movie’s hold in the coming weeks.
