Key Takeaways

• Box office results show Weapons leading with $15.6 million, but predictions suggest Kpop Demon Hunters may surpass it with $18 million.
• Weapons has grossed over $115 million domestically, marking it as a significant sleeper hit.
• Freakier Friday continues to perform steadily, earning $9.2 million despite a decline.
• New releases next weekend include Caught Stealing, The Roses, and The Toxic Avenger.

This weekend’s box office reporting comes with a huge asterisk. While the official numbers released by Comscore have Weapons winning its third weekend in a row with $15.6 million, the final numbers released tomorrow may tell a wholly different story. Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters is having special sing-along showings at theaters nationwide (except AMC, which refuses to carry it), and word is that all of the screenings have been selling out. Deadline is predicting that the streamer’s breakout hit will top the weekend with $18 million, but so far Netflix, as is their custom, has not released official numbers, so this is all just guesswork. Whatever the case, it’s proving to be a way bigger hit than I anticipated, and something of a game-changer—maybe—for the streamer, who may opt to release more movies theatrically in special one-off showings like this.

Don’t cry for Zach Cregger’s Weapons, though. It’s made over $115 million domestically and has proven to be one of the biggest sleeper hits of the year, in the midst of a season where tried-and-true formulas—most notably superhero films—have been met with audience indifference. Hopefully, the right lessons (more original movies) will be learned.

Disney’s Freakier Friday made another $9.2 million, marking a modest 36% week-to-week decline (identical to Weapons). While it won’t come close to the $110 million earned by the first movie, it will no doubt turn a decent profit for Disney once it hits streaming (assuming they keep the budget in check). Another Disney movie, Fantastic Four: First Steps, has begun to ease off (a bit) in its precipitous decline, earning $5.9 million this weekend, with a $257 million domestic total. It seems highly unlikely to make over $275 million domestically and trails James Gunn’s Superman, which made $3.43 million in sixth place as it closes in on $350 million domestically.

Universal took fourth and fifth place, with The Bad Guys 2 making $5.1 million for a $66 million domestic total, while Nobody 2 fell a steep 60% to $3.7 million. Its domestic haul stands at $16.5 million, so it likely won’t come close to the $27 million earned by the first movie. Audiences are likely waiting for this one to hit streaming.

Further down the list is Focus’s Honey Don’t from Ethan Coen. It didn’t find much of an audience with a $3 million opening, but it performed better than Coen’s last movie, Drive Away Dolls, which opened with $2.4 million on a thousand more screens. Clearly, some lessons were learned, but it’s hard to imagine the studio will be chomping at the bit to greenlight a third film in Coen’s proposed lesbian B-movie trilogy.

The Naked Gun started to wrap up its run with another $2.9 million, for a $47 million domestic total. It should cross $50 million by next week and turn a nice profit for the studio (consider it a single rather than a double or home run). Jurassic World Rebirth made $2.1 million for a $335 million domestic total. Finally, Bleeker Street’s thriller, Relay, starring Riz Ahmed and Lily James, opened modestly with $1.9 million. Too bad, as it’s a nifty little thriller (expect a review and some interviews this week).

Next weekend sees a glut of new releases, including Caught Stealing, The Roses, and The Toxic Avenger. Will any of them top the box office? Let us know in the comments!