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Weapons director Zach Cregger says his Resident Evil film will be inspired by Sam Raimi's Evil Dead II.The 44-year-old filmmaker has established himself in the horror genre thanks to his new critically acclaimed movie Weapons, which sees Julia Garner and Josh Brolin's characters investigating the disappearance of a class full of children, and 2022's Barbarian.Cregger's next project is a new Resident Evil movie - which will be the eighth live action film based on Capcom's survival horror video game series - and he wants it to be a zombie attack romp, using Raimi's 1987 cult classic sequel as a reference point.Speaking to Ringer, he said: "It’s gonna be not at all like Barbarian and Weapons. It’s going to be a rock ’em, sock ’em … it’s for me to play. And turn my brain off and just make an … Evil Dead 2 ... get crazy with the camera.

Weapons: How Personal Tragedy Shaped Zach Cregger’s Chilling New Thriller (Photo Credit – Youtube)

Zach Cregger, the mind behind Barbarian, is back with Weapons — a chilling small-town mystery where kids vanish, witchcraft lurks, and grief takes center stage. Released in theaters on Aug. 8, 2025, the film throws viewers into Maybrook, Pennsylvania, where 17 children vanish at precisely 2:17 a.m., leaving only one behind.

It kicks off with a little girl swearing this is a “true story.” Spoiler: it’s not. But Cregger’s own loss fuels the emotional punch. Blending supernatural suspense with very real feelings, Weapons rides a blend of personal tragedy and urban legend energy. Keep reading to know more.

What’s the Truth Behind Zach Cregger’s Weapons Plot?

Weapons wastes no time setting the scene. At exactly 2:17 a.m., 17 third-graders in Maybrook, Pennsylvania, rise from their beds and disappear into the night. Only Alex Lilly, played by Cary Christopher,...

Zach Cregger’s mind-bending, mystery-horror Weapons isn’t just another scary movie; it’s the kind that crawls under your skin and refuses to leave. Written, directed, and co-produced by Cregger, the movie brings together an A-list ensemble of Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Benedict Wong, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, and Amy Madigan.

Weapons kick off when seventeen kids from the same third-grade class vanish at exactly 2:17 am in a quiet Pennsylvania town. What follows is a tense, slow-burn descent into witchcraft, hypnosis, and a finale so wildly unhinged you’ll definitely question every neighbor you’ve ever trusted.

Released by Warner Bros. on August 8, 2025, and backed by a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score, the movie has already raked in $70 million at the box office, proving Cregger knows how to keep audiences hooked, horrified, and a bit paranoid. If you have watched Weapons and want to chase the same thrill, or are...

Zach Cregger has explained the cryptic 2:17 that keeps appearing in Weapons, and it’s a direct nod to Stephen King’s The Shining. Cregger told CinemaBlend that it was an unconscious influence, but it’s still undeniable.

Even though Cregger is a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation, where the room that Danny lives in and sees a ghost is changed to 237, from the original 217 number in the novel, the Weapons director decided to go with what was used in the source material.

Subconsciously. 2:17 has to have come from that. It has to have. And look: I’m a [Stanley] Kubrick guy when it comes to The Shining; I definitely like worship that movie, and I thought of changing it to 2:37. But then I was like, ‘You know what? My first impulse has gotta be the one I stick with,’ so I kept 2:17.

So, let’s...

Austin Abrams' agent ruined the mystery of Weapons before he read the script.The 28-year-old actor plays drug addict James in Zach Cregger's new horror blockbuster, and he has admitted the movie's big twist - which involves witchcraft being at the heart of the story - was ruined for him before he had a chance to sit down with the story.He told The Hollywood Reporter: "Well, my freaking agent had spoiled it. I love him, but that was annoying. [Laughs]"I still loved the script. I read it in one go in the middle of the night when I should have been sleeping."I just couldn’t stop reading it, which is insane and how it’s been with all of Zach’s scripts. I just love them."Abrams - who will reunite with Cregger on his new Resident Evil movie - praised the way the filmmaker makes...

Julia Garner may currently be making rounds on the internet for her exceptional performances in MCU’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps and her thriller masterpiece Weapons, but during her childhood, her struggles with her disabilities were real. She had epilepsy, a neurological disorder characterized by a tendency to have recurrent, unprovoked seizures, and struggled with bad reading problems – until she jumped into acting and everything changed.

In a 2021 interview with W Magazine, the Weapons actress talked about the crippling shyness that had defined her childhood among her struggle with her disability, saying,

I had really bad reading problems and learning disabilities, and I was also very sick as a child, with epilepsy. I felt like everything that I said was stupid, so I just shut down.

As she shared in another interview with Rolling Stone in 2021, Garner spent quite a bit of her life outrunning the childhood fear that she was embarrassingly dumb,...

Josh Brolin is tired of “all the same shit” that’s on streamers, so that’s why he boarded Zach Cregger’s Weapons.

The Oscar-nominated actor recently shared with Collider how the horror mystery pic is the solution to all the boring content he said is currently offered on streaming services.

“You’re looking for great filmmakers, and you’re hoping that there’s another new good filmmaker out there,” he said. “Right now, with so much content, you’re just watching things on whatever streaming service you’re on, and you’re just going, ‘Fuck, why is this so boring, man? Why?’ And just go to the next thing. It’s all the same shit.”

Brolin added of Weapons, “And then somebody not only takes the horror genre, but then fucks with it and then does something on the edge of absurdity, and it’s sort of humorous, so...

Dear Reader, I am once again asking you to do the unthinkable and…….ignore this review. Simply stop reading now, and go see the damn movie. Zach Cregger’s highly anticipated Weapons hit theatres this last weekend and just like his 2022 surprise shocker Barbarian, the less you know the better. That said, if you’re on the fence about seeing this one and you’re just looking for rough idea of what to expect, you’ve come to the right place.

I would hate to ruin the experience of seeing this wild story slowly unfold as intended, so you’re *pretty much* free of spoilers from here on out. But if you like movies, and you like being surprised (which I’m sure you do), just do yourself a favor and take a risk on a movie ticket tonight before the rest of the internet recklessly gives away everything great about this unpredictable horror story.

Artist collective Poster Posse created a series of alternative movie posters for Weapons, which can be seen below.

Contributors include Andy Fairhurst, Audrey Estok, Chris Garofalo, Eileen Steinbach, Estevan Silveira, Julien Rico Jr., Liza Shumska, Matt Needle, Rafal Rola, and Thomas Walker.

Written and directed by Zach Cregger (Barbarian), Weapons is currently crushing it in theaters with a $70 million worldwide debut.

When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.

Julia Garner (Wolf Man), Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), Austin Abrams (“The Walking Dead”), Cary Christopher (Mank), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), and Amy Madigan (Field of Dreams) star.

Meagan Navarro wrote in her review, “This is a horror movie that trusts its audience, while also delivering on practical effects-driven violence, methodically employed scares,...

The Fantastic Four star, Pedro Pascal, took to Instagram stories to share a photo of the Weapons poster at a theater with a blunt caption: “Go to the fu**ing movies (if you can)”, tagging Zach Cregger and Julia Garner (via Discussing Film on X)

It’s a surprising public nod by Pascal to the horror movie, which he had to leave due to scheduling conflicts, and the 2023 Hollywood Strikes. So, Cregger was forced to recast the entire project, as stated in his Entertainment Weekly interview.

I had a whole different cast for this movie. And then we had the strike, and then Pedro Pascal’s schedule threw us into turmoil. I had to recast the entire movie.

The role eventually went to Josh Brolin, so let’s look at why he portrayed it better than Pascal could have, and if The Last of Us actor needed Weapons in his 2025 line-up or not.

Julia Garner got her start in movies at 17 with a role in Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene opposite Elizabeth Olsen. She ultimately found major success on the small screen for versatile work in Ozark, The Americans, Dirty John, Waco and Inventing Anna.

She’s long said that the role that changed her life (complete with three Emmy Awards in the process) was playing Ruth Langmore opposite Jason Bateman and Laura Linney until the Netflix series ended its 44-episode run in 2022.

After moving on from the career-defining performance, the star has booked herself a busy summer, which has included back-to-back No. 1 films.

Garner is riding high with the breakout success of Weapons, which surpassed expectations to hit the top of the box office last weekend with a $42.5 million opening for filmmaker Zach Cregger, Warner Bros. and New Line. The critical and commercial hit followed hot on the heels of...

An in-universe viral marketing website previously revealed that Weapons takes place in the same world as Barbarian, writer/director Zach Cregger‘s feature debut. But the connections also extend to a deranged pair of Barbarian cameos in Cregger’s latest.

Weapons, now playing in theaters, sees the small suburban town of Maybrook completely unravel in the wake of the bizarre disappearance of nearly an entire classroom of elementary school students. The unpredictable horror movie shifts through multiple perspectives to piece together the mystery, including that of Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), the desperate father of one of the children who went missing.

While we won’t spoil what happens in Weapons, it’s safe to say that Archer remains dogged in his pursuit of answers, becoming a thorn in the side of the local authorities as well as Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), his missing son’s teacher. Archer’s bid for...

Weapons (2025), Zach Cregger’s latest horror, opens with a gut-punch of a scene: seventeen children from the same third-grade class quietly leaving their homes at 2:17 a.m. and vanishing into the night. The movie drops you straight into a small town drowning in grief, suspicion, and desperation, with no explanation or buildup. Through a chapter-wise introduction, the characters gradually come together in a story tangled with paranoia, witchcraft, and sinister moves, using supernatural horror tropes to poke at corrupt authority, moral rot, and the way fear can blind people to the truth right in front of them. Weapons doesn’t just explore the heavy subjects of gun violence and right-wing perpetrators who continue to brainwash innocent lives – it also examines the incompetence of authorities and the way grieving families are left without closure after their lives are destroyed by these crimes and acts of violence.

In this article, we...

Warning: The following contains major spoilers for Weapons.

With two feature films now under his belt, Zach Cregger is making a name for himself in the horror world. His 2022 shocker Barbarian unfolds in a series of increasingly startling revelations that slowly erode our illusions of safety. His sophomore outing Weapons boasts a similarly cryptic title which clarifies itself in the story’s final act. A shocking tragedy at an elementary school sparks a horrifying tale of parasitic violence and sinister control. As in Barbarian, Cregger offers two female characters who sit on opposite ends of a monstrous spectrum. What unifies Justine (Julia Garner) and the mysterious Gladys (Amy Madigan) is the misogynistic world they both occupy. One suffers from a community primed to vilify women while the other uses patriarchal culture to hide in plain sight.

Justine is the newest teacher at Maybrook Elementary when a strange tragedy befalls the city.

Pedro Pascal urges fans to see the new hit horror movie he dropped out of. Directed by Zach Cregger, Weapons follows the mysterious disappearance of 17 children who got out of bed one night and ran out of their homes at the same time. The movie came to theaters on Aug. 8 and features a star-studded cast including Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Benedict Wang, and Cary Christopher.

Meanwhile, Pascal stars in the most recent MCU feature film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which has been in movie theaters since July 24. The latest cinematic relaunch of the Fantastic Four has grossed $434 million worldwide so far against a reported $200 million budget. Pascal has also reportedly wrapped filming on his scenes for Avengers: Doomsday.

Via his Instagram story, the Last of Us star urged fans to go see Weapons, a movie for which he was cast but was forced to drop out of. Pascal shared...

This article contains discussions of addiction.

In the fall of 2000, "The Exorcist," which originally hit theaters in 1973, got a huge re-release titled "The Version You've Never Seen." Ads for the re-release of this beloved, unbelievably influential horror classic were inescapable, and I was about to turn 10 years old. The first time I saw a commercial with Linda Blair's Regan MacNeil spider-walking down the stairs of her family home, it scared me so badly that I had nightmares about it for a full week.

I share this anecdote to make one thing perfectly clear: I don't do well with horror movies. At the same time, I respect them and even sort of revere them — name a huge horror release, and I've probably read the entire plot synopsis on Wikipedia dozens of times over to avoid getting the pants scared off me by watching the film in the first place. When "Skinamarink" came out,...

The Fantastic Four: First Steps was supposed to open with an extended action sequence pitting Marvel's First Family against Red Ghost and his Super-Apes. Ultimately, it was replaced by a montage recapping the team's origin story and a showcase of their greatest victories.

John Malkovich was cast as the villainous Red Ghost and appeared briefly in the movie's first teaser trailer. That's all we've seen of the villain, though a few snippets from the fight did make it into the final cut, with Mister Fantastic pitted against one of the Super-Apes.

Storyboard artist Jeremy Simser has taken to social media to share his work on this cut sequence from The Fantastic Four: First Steps, writing, "Just a few frames from the deleted Red Ghost ape fight I drew for [the movie]. I really wish you all could see this scene in its entirety, but alas, it's not meant to be!"

Simser also...

A new horror movie with a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score has the audience clapping and laughing in response to its wild ending. Written and directed by Zach Cregger, Weapons stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Benedict Wang, Austin Abrams, among many others, and revolves around the strange disappearance of an entire classroom of children, except for one.

In addition to its near-perfect Rt score generated from 237 critical reviews, the movie also has an 87% audience score, with many praising the well-crafted storytelling and the strong performances. Those who have seen Weapons have taken to social media to react to the movie's ending. Some left the theaters shocked, while others were furious.

@Brilliantblan0 named it "the best horror movie of the decade," highlighting the "Wild" ending.

Weapons is the best horror movie of the decade. Probably the best since Hereditary. The ending is Wild. All of these four actors, especially Amy Madigan, should be getting nominations this awards season.

Zach Cregger made a huge splash on the horror scene back in 2022 with his first original horror movie Barbarian, a film that scared up $10.5 million in its domestic debut and went on to make $45 million at the worldwide box office. Cregger levels up with his second original horror movie Weapons, which has outgrossed the entire run of Barbarian in its first weekend.

Released into 3,202 theaters by Warner Bros. over the weekend, Cregger’s Weapons debuted to $42.5 million in the United States and a massive $70 million at the worldwide box office!

Weapons was number 1 at the U.S. box office for the weekend, with the film earning the third highest grossing opening weekend for the horror genre this year so far. Only Final Destination Bloodlines ($51.6 million) and Sinners ($48 million) had higher openings, and those two movies went on to earn $285 million and $365 million at the global box office, respectively.

The budget...

Comedian Turned Director Behind Weapons And Resident Evil Reboot ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Zach Cregger is a film director who has recently helmed the acclaimed horror film Weapons, which has generated a lot of buzz. And this isn’t the only high-profile project the budding director has under his belt, as Zach will also be working on an upcoming film reboot for Capcom’s iconic Resident Evil series.

However, Zach Cregger’s pivot into horror filmmaking is the latest chapter in a long, storied career. Read on to learn more about this rising star’s long and diverse career trajectory, from his start as a comedian to his pivot towards filmmaking.

Zach Cregger Was A Founding Member Of Wkuk

Zach Cregger first attained prominence in the public eye as a founding member of the cult-favorite comedy troupe The Whitest Kids You Know (Wkuk).

Trending When The Russo Brothers Fought Relentlessly With...

Zach Cregger’s Weapons, a highly anticipated horror movie starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, and other talented actors, has recently made waves for its 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is considered to be perfect and rare. But now it has dropped down to 95%!

And although that’s still impressive, it has knocked the movie down from its pedestal of elite horror movies that have maintained a flawless score. So, we’ve compiled a list of every feature in the genre that ranks higher as Weapons. Without further ado, here are all the terrifying films that will make you hide under your blanket!

30) A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) – 96% A still from A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night | Credits: SpectreVision

Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is so hauntingly original! It brings you a vampire mythos in Western aesthetics and uses a black-and-white color palette.

Marvel Studios “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” PG-rated, live-action, comic book movie, has to date grossed ‘Domestic’ $230,412,709 and ‘International’ $203,800,000 for a ‘Worldwide’ total of $434,212,709, after 16 days in wide theatrical release:

“…set against the vibrant backdrop…

“…of a 1960’s-inspired, retro-futuristic world…

“Marvel Studios' 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps'…

“…introduces Marvel’s First Family…

“…Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby)…

“…Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn)…

“…and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach)…

“…as they face their most daunting challenge yet.

“Forced to balance their roles as heroes…

“…with the strength of their family bond…

“…they must defend Earth…

“…from a ravenous space god…

“…called ‘Galactus’ (Ralph Ineson)…

“…and his enigmatic ‘Herald’, ‘Silver Surfer’ (Julia Garner)…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Zach Cregger‘s Weapons and Lindsay Lohan‘s Freakier Friday began their run by dominating the box office this weekend. Debuting to $42.5M domestically, Weapons lifted the ticket sales, while Freakier Friday premiered to $29M, as the summer movie season comes close to an end. Meanwhile, Superman, Jurassic World Rebirth, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps continue to make waves in theaters.

While each film is holding strong with its own share of the spotlight, let’s break down their performance at the box office so far. Plus, considering how Weapons and Ryan Coogler‘s Sinners are sharing the same genre of psychological horror, let’s check out if Cregger’s film about parental paranoia can beat the vampire flick in the long run.

How Much Has Weapons Earned at the Box Office?

Over its domestic opening weekend, Weapons, released on August 8, sliced through the competition with a steady climb in ticket sales.

Zach Cregger Shares The Darker Weapons Ending (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Zach Cregger, the weapons director, shared that the horror film Weapons originally had a darker ending. The movie follows a town shaken by strange events, centered around seventeen children who mysteriously vanish from their elementary school. The story mixes supernatural forces with a threatening figure, Gladys, played by Amy Madigan. She uses witchcraft to trap Alex’s classmates and drain their energy, showing how dangerous she is. In the final version, Gladys is defeated, and the narration tells us that Alex is now with a family member and hints that some children might recover.

Original Ending Vs Final Cut: What Changed In Weapons

Cregger revealed in an interview with Inverse that the original ending was much bleaker. It simply ended on a close-up of Archer’s son without any voiceover. He preferred that silent finish, but test audiences did not respond well to it.

Josh Brolin thinks Weapons is the cure for “boring” content from streamers.The 57-year-old actor stars in director Zach Cregger’s new twisty horror flick, and has now argued Weapons is able to bring the genre to “the edge of absurdity” to ultimately create something fresh and unique away from the offerings of streaming platforms.Speaking with Collider, Brolin said: “You’re looking for great filmmakers, and you’re hoping that there’s another new good filmmaker out there.“Right now, with so much content, you’re just watching things on whatever streaming service you’re on, and you’re just going, ‘F***, why is this so boring, man? Why?’ And just go to the next thing. It’s all the same s***. “And then somebody not only takes the horror genre, but then f**** with it and then does something on the edge of absurdity, and it’s sort of humorous,...

Worldwide box office: August 8-10 TitleFilm (distributor)3-day (world)Cume (world)3-day (int’l)Cume (int’l)Territories 1 Weapons(Warner Bros) $70m $70m $27.5m $7.5m 73 2 Freakier Friday(Disney) $44.5m $44,5m $15.5m $15.5m 47 3 Dead To Rights(various) $41.5m $306.7m $41.5m $306.7m 3 4 Nobody(various) $35m $76.9m $35m $76.9m 1 5 Fantastic Four: The First Steps(Disney) $33m $434.2m $17.5m $203.8m 53 6 Dongji Rescue(various) $27m $27.1m $27m $27.1m 1 7 Jurassic World Rebirth(Universal) $20.8m $800m $16.1m $473.2m 84 8 The Bad Guys 2(Universal) $19.7m $84m $9.3m $40.6m 65 9 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba InfinityCastle(various) $14.6m $145.6m $14.6m $145.6m 2 10 F1(Warner Bros) $14.5m $570.7m $11,7m $392.1m 78

Credit: Comscore.

Director Zach Cregger’s offbeat horror Weapons has made a sizeable $70m at the box office, ahead of Freakier Friday and a dwindling Fantastic Four.

Eighteen-rated, tonally eccentric, and directed from an original screenplay, Weapons sounds like the sort of movie Hollywood studios would ordinarily cross the street to avoid. Yet director Zach Cregger’s horror-mystery has managed to make a sizeable impact at the box office over the weekend, pulling in $70m worldwide.

That’s far ahead of Disney’s family-friendly comedy sequel Freakier Friday, which made $44.5m, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which has again dropped precipitously on its third week of release. The latter’s still made a healthy-sounding $434m worldwide to date, but placed against a production budget of around $200m before marketing’s taken into account, it becomes clear that Marvel’s superhero opus will take some time to properly break even.

Weapons, by contrast,...

The new Marvel movie, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, has officially brought the famous superhero family into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Matt Shakman and set in a stylish 1960s world, the film shows the team facing off against the massive cosmic villain Galactus.

The movie stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, with strong support from actors like Julia Garner and Ralph Ineson, who plays Galactus.

What really got fans talking, though, was the mid-credits scene. It takes place four years after the main story ends and shows Sue Richards reading to her son Franklin. When Sue leaves the room to grab another book, Franklin is left with a mysterious figure wearing a green cloak and holding a metal mask. Fans immediately recognized the figure as Doctor Doom, one of Marvel’s most famous villains.

Since the scene came out, many fans have been wondering...

The new Marvel movie, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, brought the famous superhero family into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time. This 2025 film, directed by Matt Shakman, shows the team battling a massive threat, the cosmic villain Galactus. Set in a cool, retro 1960s world, the movie stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, with a strong supporting cast including Julia Garner and Ralph Ineson as Galactus.

But what really caught fans’ attention was the mid-credits scene. It takes place four years after the main story, at the Richards family home. Sue is reading to her son Franklin when she leaves to grab another book. When she comes back, Franklin is with a mysterious man wearing a green cloak and holding a metal mask. That was undeniably Doctor Doom, one of Marvel’s most iconic villains.

Since the scene was released, fans have been guessing...

The Fantastic Four: First Steps North America Box Office Day 17 Update (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps crashes at the box office every weekend. It has once again faced a steep drop in North America and lost the #1 spot in the domestic box office chart. However, the film has successfully surpassed Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings at the domestic box office. Keep scrolling for the deets.

This is the 37th film in the MCU, and it features a fresh new cast comprising Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn as the titular team, alongside Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and Ralph Ineson. It recently entered this year’s top 10 grossers list worldwide, and according to reports, a sequel is in development.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps box office collection on its 3rd weekend in North...

Weapons North America Box Office Day 3: Opening Weekend Update (Photo Credit – YouTube)

Weapons is continuing the successful journey of horror movies this season. After Sinners and Final Destination: Bloodlines, Josh Brolin’s film opened in cinemas with impressive numbers and was at the top of the domestic rankings on its debut weekend. Keep scrolling for the deets.

The film starring the MCU stars, Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, received rave reviews, including an A- on CinemaScore. The original horror flick has registered one of the biggest openings for horror films this year, which is a significant feat for Warner Bros Pictures. They have been on a winning streak this year; other films by WB, including Superman and F1, are also doing a marvelous job at the box office.

How much has the film earned at the domestic box office on its opening weekend?

Weapons is experiencing an impressive word-of-mouth.

Spoilers: This post contains details about Weapons

As Alden Ehrenreich got into uniform for Weapons, he was determined to get this detail about the character just right.

The actor, who plays Officer Paul Morgan in the horror movie that opened atop the box office, admitted that he and director Zach Cregger were torn over whether his character should have a mustache.

“When we first started talking about the character, we were like, ‘There’s no f—ing way we’re going to do a mustache. We’re not doing a mustache! It’s super trope-y. Every cop in every movie has one. We’re not doing it!'” he told Men’s Health. “Then I sent Zach a picture of me with a mustache, and he was like, ‘Don’t shave the mustache.’ And then I spent time with some cops—and they all had the mustache!”

Ehrenreich added, “It’s...

One would be hard-pressed to find a busier man in Hollywood than Pedro Pascal these days. The star of "The Mandalorian" and "Gladiator II" has been an ever-present force in both movies and TV over the last several years. That's a big reason why Warner Bros. and director Zach Cregger tapped him to topline the cast for the filmmaker's latest movie "Weapons," a follow-up to his 2022 breakout feature debut "Barbarian." Unfortunately, Pascal had to drop out of the movie before production began. But why?

In a recent interview with Variety, Cregger addressed Pascal's departure from "Weapons," revealing that the months-long 2023 Screen Actors Guild strike was to blame. "I had a whole different cast for this movie. And then we had the strike, and then Pedro Pascal's schedule threw us into turmoil. I had to recast the entire movie," the director said. Indeed, it wasn't just losing one cast member. Apparently,...

There is a moment in Matt Shakman's new film "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" that very strongly resembles a scene from Robert Wise's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."

"First Steps" has its head tilted toward the heavens. The titular heroes received their powers from "cosmic rays," absorbed while they were on a space mission. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) are expecting their first child, and Reed is deathly afraid that the baby will be born with some kind of unusual genetic problem. After all, what happens when two cosmically enhanced people reproduce? The film will later reveal that their child possesses an uncanny power called the Power Cosmic. Even babies are infused with star stuff. 

In the universe of "First Steps," everything on Earth has been transformed into a utopia. Reed Richards, using his knowledge of space travel and extrapolating from his own superpowers,...

“Weapons,” Zach Cregger’s critically acclaimed horror film about a community rocked by the mysterious disappearance of 17 children, scored at the international box office. The film, which topped domestic charts in its opening weekend, picked up $27.5 million from 73 international markets to bring its global haul to $70 million.

“Weapons” was released by Warner Bros. and New Line and stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan. It cost a modest $38 million to produce, setting itself up nicely for a very profitable run in theaters. Among the most notable foreign territories, “Weapons” performed well in the U.K., where it earned $3.6 million, Mexico, where it picked up $2.7 million, France, where it nabbed $2 million and Australia, where it grossed $1.8 million. Horror films traditionally perform better in the U.S. than in other parts of the world.

The weekend’s other major new release, Disney’s “Freakier Friday,...

This article contains spoilers for "Weapons" and "Skinamarink."

The concept of a festering rot infecting a community due to its concealed existence is by no means revolutionary, but a good filmmaker can make it feel fresh and new. Enter "The Whitest Kids U'Know" co-founder Zach Cregger, who emerged as a promising new face in the world of horror with 2022's subterranean nightmare "Barbarian." Blending his comedic sensibilities with a demented horror movie about people discovering a labyrinthine sexual torture basement could have gone sideways in a whole number of ways, but Cregger pulled off a minor miracle. He provides moments of catharsis, albeit never at the expense of the horrors assaulting his most vulnerable characters. The bold twists and turns that "Barbarian" takes ensured my interest in whatever film Cregger would make next, and "Weapons" was well worth the wait.

/Film's Chris Evangelista gave a glowing review of "Weapons," accurately calling it "a twisted,...

Update Aug. 10, 2025: Zach Cregger’s Weapons claimed the top spot at the box office over the Aug. 8-10 weekend, exceeding expectations with an impressive $42.5 million debut. The R-rated thriller from Warner Bros., backed by strong critical acclaim and premium format screenings, delivered a standout showing, solidifying itself as a late-summer hit. The film starring Julia Garner and Josh Brolin outperformed its initial projections of $30-$40 million, signaling that word-of-mouth and its eerie premise helped draw in thriller-hungry audiences.

Disney’s Freakier Friday followed, securing the second spot with $29 million. The highly anticipated sequel to the 2003 comedy landed within its expected range and leaned heavily on nostalgia to woo millennial fans, teens, and families. Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis’s much-hyped reunion propelled the film to a solid debut, though it ultimately fell short of the top spot.

Rounding out the top five were The Fantastic Four: First Steps with $15.5 million,...

Julia Garner as Justine in New Line Cinema’s “Weapons,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

Weapons and Freakier Friday dominated the box office this weekend, showing that horror and comedy can still bring in huge crowds. Weapons, from Warner Bros., took the top spot with a $42.5 million opening. Disney’s Freakier Friday followed closely with $29 million, and together Weapons and Freakier Friday knocked a superhero blockbuster off its throne.

The strong debut for Weapons and Freakier Friday marks another high point in an already impressive summer. Warner Bros., already boosted by hits like A Minecraft Movie and Superman, can now count Weapons as another win. Directed by Zach Cregger, the $38 million horror film stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan. Its box office success proves that original horror stories still have the power to lead the race.

Meanwhile,...

Warner Bros’ muscular box office run continues as Weapons stormed to the top of the charts in North America on a confirmed $43.5m –around $1m more than Sundance estimates –one place ahead of Disney’s new release Freakier Friday.

The Weapons debut means Warner Bros’ last six films have each opened on more than $40m in a Hollywood record.

ComScore reported that the weekend generated an estimated $131m, with $5.6bn year-to-date tracking 7.6% ahead of 2024 by the same stage.

Weapons, thefollow-up to Zach Cregger’s 2022 debut Barbarian,arrived on an A- CinemaScore and debuted via New Line in 3,202 locations.EntTelligence reported...

Warner Bros’ muscular box office run continues as Weapons stormed to the top of the charts in North America on an estimated $42.5m, one place ahead of Disney’s new release Freakier Friday, to ensure the studio’s last six films have each opened on more than $40m – a Hollywood record.

ComScore reported that the weekend generated an estimated $131m, with $5.6bn year-to-date tracking 7.6% ahead of 2024 by the same stage.

Weapons, thefollow-up to Zach Cregger’s 2022 debut Barbarian,arrived on an A- CinemaScore and debuted via New Line in 3,202 locations.EntTelligence reported an estimated 2.8m audience and a 54%-46% male-female audience split.

Bored with what’s on Netflix? Josh Brolin says go see “Weapons.”

In a recent interview with Collider, Brolin, who stars in Zach Cregger’s latest twisty horror, said “Weapons” is the antithesis of “boring” streaming content, bringing the horror genre to “the edge of absurdity” to create something entirely unique.

“You’re looking for great filmmakers, and you’re hoping that there’s another new good filmmaker out there,” Brolin said. “Right now, with so much content, you’re just watching things on whatever streaming service you’re on, and you’re just going, ‘Fuck, why is this so boring, man? Why?’ And just go to the next thing. It’s all the same shit. And then somebody not only takes the horror genre, but then fucks with it and then does something on the edge of absurdity, and it’s sort of humorous, so it’s keeping you...

Refresh for latest…: Two new studio movies entered the marketplace this weekend, and both exceeded expectations.

To wit: New Line/Warner Bros’ Weapons led the charge for the studios at the international box office with the well-reviewed horror from Zach Cregger grossing $27.5M from 72 markets. Combined with domestic, that takes the global debut to $70M.

Meanwhile, Disney’s Freakier Friday, with a $15.5M overseas launch in 46 material markets, had a global bow of $44.5M.

And, there’s a new milestone afoot for Universal/Amblin’s Jurassic World Rebirth. Read on…

Weapons’ international opening, in like-for-like markets and at today’s exchange rates, is tracking above Speak No Evil (+164%), Smile (+77%), The Black Phone (+59%), Evil Dead Rise (+34%) and M3GAN (+29%).

Notably, in Europe, Weapons was tops for the region including UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Holland and Poland. In like-for-likes, the debut was ahead of Sinners (+33%), Smile (+46%) and Speak No Evil (+110%).

In Latin America,...

It might be for the best that we have nearly a year to wait before Supergirl and Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrive in theaters, because superhero fatigue is getting harder to shrug off as wishful thinking from the genre's detractors.

This weekend, The Fantastic Four: First Steps reached $434.2 million at the worldwide box office, with that broken down to $230.4 million domestically and $203.8 million overseas.

That makes it the highest-grossing MCU movie of 2025, easily beating Captain America: Brave New World ($415.3 million) and Thunderbolts* ($382.4 million). It will surpass $450 million next week, but $500 million isn't a safe bet as the movie has had much weaker legs than expected. As a result, revised expectations place it at a final cume of $490 million - $510 million.

Will Disney be happy with that? Well, it's the biggest Fantastic Four movie to date and received glowing reviews from fans and critics alike, so it's not a terrible result.

It might be for the best that we have nearly a year to wait before Supergirl and Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrive in theaters, because superhero fatigue is getting harder to shrug off as wishful thinking from the genre's detractors.

This weekend, The Fantastic Four: First Steps reached $434.2 million at the worldwide box office, with that broken down to $230.4 million domestically and $203.8 million overseas.

That makes it the highest-grossing MCU movie of 2025, easily beating Captain America: Brave New World ($415.3 million) and Thunderbolts* ($382.4 million). It will surpass $450 million next week, but $500 million isn't a safe bet as the movie has had much weaker legs than expected. As a result, revised expectations place it at a final cume of $490 million - $510 million.

Will Disney be happy with that? Well, it's the biggest Fantastic Four movie to date and received glowing reviews from fans and critics alike, so it's not a terrible result.

Weapons has already outgrossed Barbarian. Weapons is the new horror movie from director Zach Cregger, whose 2022 outing Barbarian became a surprise hit at a still pandemic-depressed box office by grossing $45.4 million against its reported budget of just $4.5 million.

His follow-up in the genre is 2025's Weapons, which stars Julia Garner as an elementary school teacher who is suspected of being behind the mysterious disappearance of all but one of her students on the same night. The movie's ensemble cast also includes Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, and Amy Madigan.

Warner Bros. reports that, as of Sunday morning, Weapons is projected to end its opening weekend with a global haul of $70 million, comprising $42.5 million at the domestic box office and an additional $27.5 million from more than 70 international markets.

Not only does this total surpass the $45.4 million gross of Barbarian, it exceeds it by more than one and a half times.

Weapons is scaring up big numbers at the box office!

The much-buzzed about horror film, about a group of missing children, debuted at No. 1 this weekend with an impressive $42.5 million, according to Variety.

From writer-director Zach Cregger, best known for 2022’s cult hit Barbarian, the movie stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan.

Made for $38 million and released by Warner Bros.’ New Line label, Weapons continues a hot streak for the studio after recent successes like Sinners, A Minecraft Movie and Superman.

His previous film, Barbarian, earned $45.4 million and became a fan favorite among horror lovers. Thanks to the success of Weapons, he’s already set to helm a reboot of Resident Evil.

Find out if this movie has an end credits scene or not.

“Weapons,” out now, is one of the very best movies you’ll see this year and an instant horror classic, combining elements of Paul Thomas Anderson and John Carpenter. And honestly, the less you know the better, since the power of “Weapons” comes from the movie’s slow reveal of the truth behind the disappearance of an entire classroom’s worth of little kids.

As the film unfolds, we get the mystery investigated and expanded upon by a host of townsfolk – the teacher of the missing kids (Julia Garner), a father of a missing boy (Josh Brolin) and a local beat cop (Alden Ehrenreich), among others. And then when the truth is finally revealed, it’s a doozy. “Weapons” hails from “Barbarian” director Zach Cregger, so you know that it’s full of twists, turns and oddly laugh-out-loud funny humor.

But we can’t express how powerful the ending is...

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” sold itself as a stand-alone picture — an increasingly rare quality six phases into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. MCU architect Kevin Feige himself called the movie a “no-homework-required” adventure, having no ties to any past Marvel entries. While this is true, “Fantastic Four” does set up the future of the MCU in a significant way.

It also establishes a potentially massive problem for Marvel’s upcoming “Avengers” event films.

Read on to discover how “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” leads into the next MCU films, and how it potentially wrong-foots one of Marvel’s greatest characters. Obviously, this article contains major spoilers, so you might want to check out the movie before you continue. Come back once you’ve had a chance to meet the family.

How does “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” end?

When the Fantastic Four — including a then-pregnant Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) — meet...

“Weapons,” a twisty horror film about a group of missing children, and “Freakier Friday,” a body swap comedy, delivered a potent one-two punch at the box office this weekend, lifting ticket sales as summer movie season draws to a close.

The films captured the top two spots on the charts, with “Weapons” debuting to $42.5 million and “Freakier Friday” premiering to $29 million. Last weekend’s champ, Disney and Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” surrendered its box office crown, earning $15.5 million in its third weekend of release for a third place finish. After starting strong with a $117.6 million bow, “Fantastic Four” has plummeted in subsequent weekends, falling more than 67% in its sophomore frame and another 60% over the past weekend. The superhero film has grossed $230 million domestically and will likely earn less money than “Superman,” the latest comic book adaptation from its rival DC Films.

“Weapons” extends a hot streak for Warner Bros.,...

The communal experience of seeing movies in theaters was on full display at the weekend box office as audiences across the country screeched, screamed and hollered together when watching New Line’s original horror pic Weapons.

Thanks to winning over critics and audiences alike, director Zach Cregger’s buzzy movie came in more than $10 million ahead of expectations to win the weekend with $42.5 million in yet another notable victory for New Line and parent company Warner Bros., as well as for original stories. Overseas, it also won the race with an equally impressive $27.5 million for a global debut of $70 million. The genre doesn’t usually travel well, but Weapons is an exception, scaring up strong results in normally horror-resistant markets in Europe and Latin America.

It’s the seventh Warners release of the year to open in first place, an unrivaled feat, as well as its sixth title in a...