411 Box Office Report: Weapons Returns To #1, Jaws Re-Release Lands at #2

Weapons made its return to the top of the box office over Labor Day weekend, with Jaws’ 50th anniversary re-release hitting #2. Zach Cregger’s horror hit reclaimed the #1 spot after losing out to Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters last week. The film scored $10.2 million over three days and a projected $12.4 million through Monday. The three-day drop is just 34%, continuing the film’s excellent box office legs.

As it stands, Weapons is a full box office smash for New Line and Warner Bros. with $134.6 million domestically and $234.6 million worldwide against a budget of just $38 million. It now looks very more or less certain to cross the $150 mark stateside and could go even higher if the great holds continue.

Meanwhile, a 1975 horror classic claimed the runner-up position as Jaws’ 50th anniversary return brought in $8.1 million and $9.8 million through Monday. The Steven Spielberg shark flick proved why it defined the concept of the blockbuster with a strong performance over Labor Day weekend.

Re-releases have been on the rise in recent years as studios discovered their value during the pandemic lockdown when they had no other content to release. Jaws’ performance is a good one, topping Spielberg’s Labor Day re-releases of Close Encounters of Third Kind ($2.2 million in 2024) and E.T. in 2022 (1 million). Jaws ups its totals to $280.4 million domestically and $491 million worldwide.

The first actual new release came in at #3 as Caught Stealing took in $7.8 million over three days and $9.5 million over four. That’s more or less where it was expected to lad coming into the weekend. The start is an improvement over the start of Aronofsky’s The Whale ($1 million) and mother! ($7.5 million), though it should be said that Caught Stealing was in 3,578 theaters compared to those films’ 603 and 2,368 theaters, respectively.

Caught Stealing is more commercial fare for Aronofsky, and the results showed. While audiences didn’t quite know what to expect from an Aronofsky action comedy, the film earned some buzz with critics (an 84% aggregated average on Rotten Tomatoes) and fans generally like it (86% RT audience rating, B CinemaScore).

Sony Pictures will have a long road to get to profit with this film, which had a reported $40 million budget. While Aronofsky usually legs out well, that’s for his Oscar-contending projects and build off a platform release; Caught Stealing is likely to play more along the lines of something like Nobody 2. It has added $5.4 million overseas for $14.9 million total and should be able to get to around $25 million to $30 million in the US.

Freakier Friday had another good hold as it was down just 27% in its fourth weekend to take in $6.5 million through Sunday and $8.3 million through Monday. The revival sequel is a full hit for Disney, tallying up $82.2 million stateside and $132.6 million against a $42 million production budget. At this point it’s the highest-grossing film of Lindsay Lohan’s career since the original Freaky Friday in 2003 and the best for Jamie Lee Curtis since Knives Out in 2019. It has a legitimate shot at $100 million domestically.

Coming in at #5 was The Roses, which grossed $6.5 million in three days and $8 million over four. Searchlight Pictures’ dark comedy remake of The War Of the Roses was also about where it was expected to do, much like Caught Stealing, and like that film is a fairly middling result.

The Roses is a bit of a head scratcher in terms of its existence. The original is well-liked enough, but it’s far from an iconic film and no one was begging for a remake. Critics liked it okay (65% on RT), and audiences didn’t hate it (77% RT audience rating, B+ CinemaScore), but those aren’t scores that will give a film like this the buzz it needs to be a hit. The film is doing a bit better overseas with $9.2 million for $17.2 million total. There’s no word on the film’s budget, but it should end up around $25 million stateside.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps continued its trend of solid holds, down just 20% in its sixth frame to tally up $4.8 million through Sunday and $6 million through Monday. The MCU film is a success for the studio with $265.8 million domestically and $506.3 million worldwide against a $200 million budget. Its US total is still aiming for an endgame of about $275 million.

The Bad Guys 2 nosed down just 7% in its fifth weekend for a three-day total of $4.7 million and a four-day of $6.4 million. The film is now looking like a relative success with $74.7 million domestically and $178.1 million worldwide opposite its $80 million production budget. $85 million should be its domestic final.

Superman was down 24% in its eighth weekend to $2.6 million ($3.3 million through Monday), bringing its totals to $351.7 million domestically and $611.4 million worldwide. The US total will be about $360 million, a decent hit against a $225 million budget.

Nobody 2 dipped 51% in its third weekend as it continues to fade away, adding $1.8 million over three days and $2.3 million through four. The film has $20.5 million stateside and $36.1 million worldwide, a disappointment against a $25 million budget. It should close with a $25 million final domestic number.

The Naked Gun closed out the top 10 with $1.8 million over three days and $2.3 million over four. The spoof comedy is now a hit with $51.3 million domestically and $95.7 million worldwide. The budget was $42 million and it will end its US run around $56 million.

Horror will come to the box office’s rescue again as The Conjuring: Last Rites is looking to do around $50 million. Disney will release their 2020 filmed production of Hamilton for the musical’s 10th anniversary and is looking to be around $10 million.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Weapons – $10.2 million ($134.6 million total, $234.6 million WW)
2. Jaws – $8.1 million ($280.4 million total, $491 million WW)
3. Caught Stealing – $7.8 million ($9.5 million total, $14.9 million WW)
4. Freakier Friday – $6.5 million ($82.2 million total, $132.6 million WW)
5. The Roses – $6.4 million ($8 million total, $17.2 million WW)
6. The Fantastic Four: First Steps – $4.8 million ($265.8 million total, $506.3 million WW)
7. The Bad Guys 2 – $4.7 million ($74.7 million total, $178.2 million WW)
8. Superman – $2.6 million ($351.7 million total, $611.4 million WW)
9. Nobody 2 – $1.8 million ($20.5 million total, $36.1 million WW)
10. The Naked Gun – $1.8 million ($51.3 million total, $95.7 million WW)