New Horror Movie Weapons Crosses Box Office Milestone in Just Three Days

Horror movies continue to impress at the box office this year. Following the massive success of Final Destination: Bloodlines, writer and director Zach Cregger’s latest horror movie is off to a huge start. Hitting theaters this weekend, Weapons is currently eyeing an opening weekend of $42.5 million. A feat made all the more impressive with the film having reportedly been made for just $38 million. Not only did the movie outearn its production budget, it has also surpassed Cregger’s previous movie, Barbarian, which finished its domestic box office run three years ago with $40.8 million.

Perhaps even more impressively, though, is that Weapons looks to have surpassed Barbarian‘s entire worldwide haul in just its opening weekend. Current box office estimates have Weapons eyeing a $27.5 million opening internationally; this would give the horror movie an opening weekend of $70 million should the numbers hold. That’s a huge win for not just an original horror movie, but for Cregger, who has proven himself to be a notable name in the genre in recent years. The movie is being received well among critics and audiences alike, with Weapons securing a Fresh rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a Popcornmeter score of 87% from audiences.

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Barbarian, Cregger’s first big horror hit, told the story of a young lady staying at an Airbnb who discovers that the house she has rented is not what it seems. The film stars Georgina Campbell as Tess, the young woman staying at the Airbnb. She stars in the film alongside Bill Skarsgård (Keith), Justin Long (AJ), Richard Brake (Frank), Jaymes Butler (Andre), and Kate Bosworth (Melisa). The movie earned a Fresh rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences giving it a 70% rating on the Popcornmeter. Prior to his work on Barbarian and Weapons, Cregger wrote and created the television series The Whitest Kids U’Know, which he also directed. Before that, though, Cregger co-directed the movie Miss March, which he also co-wrote with Trevor Moore and Dennis Haggerty.

With an impressive resume of critically acclaimed horror movies and box office successes, thanks to Weapons and Barbarian, Cregger already has his next project on deck. The writer and director has signed on to write and direct the upcoming Resident Evil reboot for Sony. Cregger, who is a massive fan of the video game franchise, has gone on record to say that project will also feature an original story—one that will draw upon the lore established within the video games.

Written and directed by Cregger, the official synopsis for Weapons says, “When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.” The movie features an impressive cast that includes a handful of Marvel Cinematic Universe stars including Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Benedict Wong, and Alden Ehrenreich. The movie also features Cary Christopher, Amy Madigan, June Diane Raphael, Austin Abrams, and Jason Turner. Weapons is now playing exclusively in movie theaters everywhere. As of now, the film does not yet have a home release date or a streaming release date.