“Fantastic Four” Box Office Falters as Summer’s Newcomers, “Freakier Friday” and “Weapons,” Gear Up for a Tense Showdown

Hollywood’s Superhero Fatigue May Be Real: The Much-Anticipated Marvel Film is Ceding its Top Spot to Two Unexpected Contenders, Sparking Hope for an Otherwise Sluggish Summer.

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Hollywood, CA – August 6, 2025: The summer box office is proving to be a wild ride, and not in the way Marvel Studios had hoped. After a highly anticipated release, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is losing its momentum faster than expected, and this weekend it’s set to be unseated from the top spot. Its replacement will be either a nostalgic comedy or a disturbing thriller, a pairing that perfectly encapsulates Hollywood’s current unpredictability.

The latest superhero epic, now in its third weekend, is projected to bring in a modest $18 million to $20 million, a sharp drop that mirrors some of Marvel’s less-than-stellar recent performances like “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.” While “Fantastic Four” has still managed to pull in a respectable $200 million domestically and $370 million globally, it’s not the triumphant return to form the studio was counting on, despite it being Marvel’s biggest release of 2025 so far.

This weekend’s race for first place is shaping up to be a photo finish. In one corner, there’s the PG-rated sequel, “Freakier Friday,” which is poised to open with a strong $27 million to $30 million. In the other, there’s the R-rated chilling thriller “Weapons,” aiming for a similar $25 million to $30 million opening.

The Return of the ‘Freaky’ and The Rise of a Horror Auteur

After 20 years, Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis are back for “Freakier Friday,” a sequel to their beloved 2003 body-swap comedy. This time, the hijinks are bigger, with a four-way switcheroo involving not just Tess and Anna, but also Anna’s daughter and new step-daughter. With a modest production budget of $42 million, this sequel is a throwback to a different era of filmmaking and a bet that audiences are ready for some lighthearted fun. Early reviews have been mostly positive, with critics praising the film for recapturing the original’s charm and heart.

Meanwhile, director Zach Cregger is back to mess with audiences’ minds again after his 2022 hit, “Barbarian.” His new thriller, “Weapons,” has a bigger budget ($38 million) and a stellar cast that includes Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, and Alden Ehrenreich. The plot is truly unsettling: 17 children from the same classroom vanish in the middle of the night. Early reviews have been rave, with critics calling it a “cruel and twisted bedtime story” that will “find it difficult to sleep afterward.”

As the summer season progresses, the industry is watching to see if ticket sales can surpass the $4 billion mark. While the year is 9.5% ahead of last year’s box office, it still lags 23% behind pre-pandemic 2019. Whether a sleeper hit like Freakier Friday or Weapons can provide the much-needed boost remains to be seen.

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