‘Weapons’ reclaims box office throne over Labor Day

Warner Bros. horror film “Weapons” reclaimed its dominance at the North American box office this Labor Day weekend, earning $10.2 million over the traditional three-day period and an estimated $12.4 million through Monday. The Zach Cregger-directed film returned to the top spot after briefly losing ground to Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters” the previous weekend, marking its fourth overall weekend at number one.

The weekend’s biggest surprise came from Universal’s 50th anniversary re-release of Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws,” which secured second place with $8.1 million from 3,200 theaters over the weekend and a projected $9.8 million through the holiday. The 1975 classic’s strong performance demonstrated the enduring appeal of the film that Quentin Tarantino once called “the greatest movie ever made”, outperforming two major new studio releases in the process.variety

Jaws Demonstrates Timeless Appeal

The “Jaws” re-release proved that the mechanical shark still has bite after five decades. According to Box Office Mojo, the film included $2.2 million from 400 IMAX locations, representing 21% of its domestic take. The re-release brings the film’s domestic lifetime total to $280.35 million and $491 million globally.boxofficepro

“How appropriate that a movie that’s celebrating its 50 years, an all-time classic, Jaws, should be as relevant today as it was when it opened,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. The film’s success over new releases highlights Hollywood’s increasing reliance on classic re-releases to boost box office totals.wdio

New Releases Struggle to Make Waves

Darren Aronofsky’s crime thriller “Caught Stealing,” starring Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz, disappointed with a third-place opening of $7.8 million over the weekend and an estimated $9.5 million for the four-day period. Despite strong critical reviews with an 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and positive audience scores, the Sony Pictures release failed to connect with moviegoers, receiving a “B” CinemaScore.variety

The film, which follows a New York City bartender entangled with dangerous gangsters in the 1990s, had a production budget of $40 million. David A. Gross from Franchise Entertainment Research noted, “This opening is good-not-great. There are many crime thrillers out there, and it’s not easy to market this one after a summer filled with event films”.variety

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman’s satirical comedy “The Roses” fared even worse, debuting in fifth place with $6.4 million over the weekend and an estimated $8 million through Monday. The Searchlight Pictures release, a remake of the 1989 film “The War of the Roses,” received mixed reviews with a 65% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes but a more favorable “B+” CinemaScore from audiences.variety

Summer Season Concludes Below Expectations

The sluggish Labor Day weekend capped off a summer movie season that fell short of industry hopes. According to Comscore, the season is projected to finish with approximately $3.7 billion in domestic earnings, just 0.2% above 2024’s total but well below the pre-pandemic benchmark of $4 billion.usnews

“There were casualties this summer. It’s a very crowded summer, very competitive,” Dergarabedian explained. The season was front-loaded with successful May releases like “Lilo & Stitch” and “Thunderbolts,” but struggled in the latter half despite breakout hits like “Weapons”.usnews

Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” led the summer with $423 million domestically, making it Hollywood’s only $1 billion hit of 2025. Warner Bros. “Superman” followed with $348 million, while “Jurassic World Rebirth” earned $336 million. The success of “Weapons,” with its $134.6 million domestic total against a $38 million budget, provided one of the summer’s few surprise hits.variety