The Fantastic Four: First Stepsis no longer looming large over Hollywood, asWeaponshas taken its first-place spot at the box office. A horror movieled by Josh Brolin(Archer Graff) and Julia Garner (Justine Gandy), it revolves around an investigation into the disappearances of over a dozen children. It debuted in theaters on August 8.

Weaponsentered theaters alongsideFreakier Friday, a sequel to 2003’sFreaky Fridaythat sees Jamie Lee Curtis (Tess Coleman) and Lindsay Lohan (Anna Coleman) reprise their original roles. LikeWeapons, it was released on August 8 and hoped to dethrone last week’s #1 release,Fantastic Four: First Steps.

An image of children running down the street in Weapons.

While the twin superhero releases,Fantastic FourandSuperman, dominated July, alongsideJurassic World, August offers a change of pace. According to reports byDeadlineandVariety,Weaponshas had an extraordinary start to the weekend, earning$18.2 million on Fridayto bring in aprojected $40-$43 million start. Check out the chart below, which showcases this weekend’s Top 5:

Manny Jacinto & Lindsay Lohan in Freakier Friday

1

$40-$43 million

01892952_poster_w780.jpg

$40-$43 million (weekend 1)

2

$30-$32 million

$30-$32 million (weekend 1)

3

$16-$18 million

$229 million (weekend 3)

4

$10.7 million

$43.7 million (weekend 2)

5

$8.4 million

$33 million (weekend 2)

There has been significant turnover, as the new releases have catapulted to the top of the charts.SupermanandJurassic World Rebirthhave fallen out of the top 5 in their 5th and 6th weekends, respectively.Naked GunandThe Bad Guys 2both fell by approximately 50%in their sophomore weekends, though they remain in the top 5.

The main change was the introduction ofWeaponsandFreakier Friday. With $70 million between them, they are both earning nearly twice as much as the third-placeFantastic Four.

What This Means For The Weekend Box Office

This is a major change at the box office, as two new releases have risen to knockMarvel Studios' latest releasedown the chart. The top two releases of the week are new debuts, which is surprising, asFantastic Fourwas hoping to remain dominant through August. A-56% drop on Friday, however, made holding steady an impossible task.

Weaponstaking the top spot continues a trend of horror movies thriving at an increasingly tumultuous box office, but it also represents a major shift for the industry. BothWeaponsandFreakierFridayhad budgets of under $50 million, withWeaponshaving $38 million andFreakier Friday$42 million, making eventual profitability far more likely.

The rise of streaming platforms has contributed to this shift, as viewers have been left with more options to see new releases more quickly. As Hollywood continues to analyze these results, it may begin to shift tolower budgets with a higher guarantee of returns, rather than relying on high-cost event movies.

Our Take On The Weekend Box Office

This is a surprise for Marvel, though not as much as it should be afterFantastic Four’s underwhelming sophomore weekend. The superhero epic simply does not havethe legs ofSupermanor previous Marvel releases likeDeadpool & WolverineorAvengers: Endgame.Its $229 million total so far will not be enoughagainst a $200 million budget.

By contrast,WeaponsandFreakier Fridayshould be ecstaticabout their debuts. While Disney likely hoped for more from the family comedy, it is difficult to disparage a $30 million opening for a sequel to a 2003 movie. After years of box office turmoil, any success should be celebrated, and both of these releases are enjoying promising starts.