Box Office: "Weapons" Continues to Hold the Top Spot

 

As Universal's action sequel "Nobody 2" attempts to make a third-place debut, "Weapons" continues to dominate the box office rankings in its second weekend.

"Nobody 2," starring Bob Odenkirk, made $3.8 million from preview and Friday screenings at 3,260 venues. That's a little higher than the $2.5 million opening day of its 2021 predecessor, but that movie came out during a pandemic-affected domestic environment when COVID vaccines were just starting to be made available to the general population.

A little behind pre-weekend estimates for a bow north of $10 million, the R-rated "Nobody 2" now appears to be on track for an opening weekend of $9.4 million. Reviews are about as strong as they were for the original "Nobody," and CinemaScore, an audience survey company, found that ticket buyers gave the film a favorable "B+" rating. However, this great response isn't translating into big sequel sales. However, with a production budget of $25 million (up from $16 million for the original "Nobody"), the movie is a small gamble on franchise growth.

With an additional $7.4 million on Friday, Warner Bros. and New Line's "Weapons" is still in first place, down about 40% from its opening day total one week prior (excluding preview screening grosses). With a strong domestic total through Sunday, the well-reviewed ensemble horror film has a chance to surpass "Snow White" ($87 million) and become the 14th highest-grossing North American release of the year.

With an additional $4.5 million on Friday, "Freakier Friday" will remain in second place. Disney's comedy sequel hopes to surpass $54 million in domestic receipts with a sophomore release in the mid-teens.

With "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," which soared to another $2.4 million on Friday, Disney also took fourth place, a 47% decrease from its daily total one week prior. Marvel Studios' superhero film, which is currently in its fourth weekend, is expected to surpass $246 million domestically by Sunday. Out of the 37 released films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it currently comes in at number 23 in North American box office receipts.

"The Bad Guys 2" from Universal completes the top five with an additional $1.9 million on Friday, bringing its third-weekend total to $6.9 million (down only 35% from the previous week). With a domestic gross of $56 million through Sunday, the DreamWorks Animation sequel is expected to trail just the 2022 original, which made $57 million during the same period.