Late summer breakout Weapons from New Line/Warner Bros added an estimated $12.4m from 3,416 locations and returned to the top after four weekends as a muted Labor Day holiday session closed out the season.
Zach Cregger’s missing schoolchildren horror stands at $134.6m in North America and more than $230m worldwide. It has been a late-arriving star of a season that for a moment some thought would cross $4bn for the first time since Barbie and Oppenheimer powered the summer of 2023.
Not this year. According to Comscore on Sunday morning all combined releases earned an estimated $83m for the weekend. Summer closed on an estimated $3.76bn, approximately 0.2% or $7m behind 2024.
The calculation includes KPop Demon Hunters, which Netflix put into cinemas for an exclusive two-day engagement last weekend. Netflix does not report box office and rival studios estimated the animation smash earned in the region of $19m.
After a sterling start in which Disney’s Lilo & Stitch scored a record four-day Memorial Day bow in late May, box office tracked 76% ahead of May 2024.
However the pace dropped in June, which ended 14% behind June 2024. Since June 13 there has only been one weekend that earned more than the prior-year period and that was when Warner Bros opened Superman over the July 11-13 session. August finished 24% behind August 2024, when Deadpool & Wolverine had the legs to earn $19.6m in its sixth weekend over the 2024 Labor Day holiday.
The summer tumble means North American box office has relinquished a 25% year-to-date lead over 2024 that has slipped to an estimated 4% on $5.98bn through September 1.
The leading films of summer 2025 have been Lilo & Stitch on $422m, Superman on $348m, Jurassic World Rebirth on $336m, How To Train Your Dragon on $263m, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps on $260m. The highest-grossing original film of the summer was Apple’s F1 released by Warner Bros on $187m.
Universal re-released Jaws on the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s shark horror classic and it surfaced in second place on an impressive $8.1m from 3,200 locations, rising to $9.8m over four days.
That pushes the film’s cumulative North American box office to $283.6m. The calculation is intricate. The film grossed around $260m after its 1975 release, which equates to roughly $1.5bn in today’s terms. It has been re-released several times prior to the weekend, and screens at Toronto International Film Festival on September 13.
Caught Stealing, The Roses open in top five
Opening in third place, behind the re-release of a 50-year-old film, was Darren Aronofsky’s R-rated crime caper Caught Stealing led by Austin Butler and Zoe Kravitz. Sony/Columbia Pictures reported a $7.8m three-day and $9.5m four-day start. Executives said they anticipate a decent hold given the film’s B CinemaScore rating and 86% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Disney’s Freakier Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan ranks fourth and reached at $80.5m following a fourth session that added $6.5m from 3,475 and is on course for $8.3m over the holiday.
The Roses, Searchlight Pictures’ dark comedy remake from Jay Roach starring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch as a feuding couple arrived in fifth place on an estimated $6.4m from 2,700 sites, rising to $8m over four days. 1989 original The War Of The Roses starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner and finished on around $86.9m, which is roughly $222m factoring inflation into the mix.
Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps crossed the $500m global threshold. North America played a big part in that accomplishment over the weekend, thanks to $4.8m from 2,785 and $6m over four days to reach $264.6m after six weekends.
Cineverse reported that the unrated remake of The Toxic Avenger starring Peter Dinklage opened in 1,995 sites on $2.2m over four days, putting it in contention for tenth place. Macon Blair directed the body horror for Legendary and Troma.
Limited release arena
Turning to the limited release arena, Mubi said Sundance psychological thriller Lurker brought in $135,749 over four days from 19 cinemas to settle on $215,452 after two weekends. Alex Russell’s film about a young man who obsesses over a rising pop star is led by Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe. It expands into a national release this week.
Focus Features reported a $920,000 second-weekend haul for Working Title’s Cannes Midnight selection Honey Don’t in 1,332 sites, rising to a projected $1.4m over the four-day Labor Day holiday weekend. Ethan Coen’s dark comedy now stands at a solid $5.4m.
Almost one year after its world premiere at 2024 TIFF, David Mackenzie’s thriller Relay starring Riz Ahmed added $328,906 over three and $417,489 from four via Bleecker Street to reach $2.9m.
From the second weekend of the English-language re-release, A24 said Ne Zha II added $332,068 from four days from 756 screens. The release is in association with China’s CMC and combines with CMC’s North American release back in February of the Mandarin-language version for a $23.3m running total.
Neon reported the second weekend for Cannes Premiere selection Splitsville from Michael Angelo Covino, which grossed $200,273 in 28 screens over four days for a $350,277 tally. The company’s Sundance horror hit Together stands at $21.1m after five weekends in play.
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