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Stephen King‘s name still carries a ton of weight in horror fandoms, and he knows it. The legendary author has been lending his endorsement to his favorite horror movies for years, and in many cases, like Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead, it’s given the filmmakers involved a big boost.

Well, the summer’s biggest horror hit might not actually need any help from King, but you know the horror master wasn’t going to miss out on the film everyone is talking about. Yes, King saw it, too, and yes, he also loved it.

Over the weekend, King posted on his various social platforms about Weapons, the latest film from writer/director Zach Cregger. King had nothing but good things to say about the flick, calling it “confidently told” and “very scary.” It’s one of his most straightforward pieces of horror movie praise, and you have...

Weapons has now surpassed another major 2025 film at the domestic box office. The horror movie is the second feature film from Zach Cregger, who had his breakout with Barbarian in 2022. Starring Julia Garner and Josh Brolin, Weapons focuses on the case of 17 school children fleeing their houses in the middle of the night, disappearing.

The response to Weapons has been extremelypositive thus far. It maintained a perfect 100% Tomatometer score for a while, and is now at a 93% on the review aggregator site. This includes a positive review for Weapons from ScreenRant's Zach Moser, praising its "excellent lead performances."

Warner Bros. has now revealed new box office data for Weapons, including beating out a major Disney title. The movie brought in an additional $25 million at the domestic box office this past weekend.This puts Weapons' domestic total at $88.5 million, just above Disney's Snow White, which grossed $87.2 million domestically.

Weapons has...

While Hollywood has been scrambling in the face of so-called "superhero fatigue," churning out IP-based movies at an alarming rate in an attempt to find the next profitable genre, horror has been chugging along quite nicely at the box office. For some time, studios have been relying on big franchises with irresponsible budgets. But horror movies are relatively cheap to make and reliably bring in the crowds.

At least Hollywood seems to be taking much more notice of this quietly profitable genre in recent years, releasing several low-budget horrors that made millions. Significant examples include Kyle Edward Ball's immersive nightmare tone poem "Skinamarink," the lamentable "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" films, and the truly deranged "Terrifier" movies, which have become emblematic of ultra-low budget horror's ability to become not only significantly profitable but culturally influential. Another example of horror's popular appeal is Zach Cregger's 2022 directorial breakthrough "Barbarian,...

Weapons has been the talk of the town (internet) since its highly anticipated release. Weapons hit theaters just last week and has been receiving both rave reviews and some criticism. But no one can argue the fact that Aunt Gladys is a mysterious villain that we all want to know more about.

Weapons is told in multiple POVs with characters Justine, Archer, Paul, James, and Alex. Zach Cregger stated that he had originally planned for Gladys to have her own Pov containing a snippet of her backstory but ultimately cut it from the final script. The cut Pov can be expanded on so much more than just a small chapter of Weapons.

Weapons movie

Weapons is Creggers sophomore debut, following the release of Barbarian. Weapons is about 17 third graders who mysteriously go missing at 2:17am, which is every kid in Justine's class except for one. Alex is the only...

Weapons Worldwide Box Office: Horror Hit Beats Michael B. Jordan’s Superhero Chronicle(Photo Credit –Facebook)

After the acclaimed 2022 horror hit Barbarian, Zach Cregger’s latest directorial outing, Weapons, has taken the horror world by storm, earning a stellar 94% critics’ score and an 86% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (Source: Rotten Tomatoes). On the box office front, the movie has grossed nearly $149 million worldwide and currently ranks among the top 20 highest-grossing films of 2025.

In doing that, Weapons has also outperformed an underrated superhero movie starring Sinners actor Michael B. Jordan. That film is the 2012 found-footage superhero sci-fi flick Chronicle. Read on to see how the two films stack up at the global box office.

Weapons vs. Chronicle – Box Office Comparison

Here are the current box office tallies of Weapons and Chronicle, according to Box Office Mojo:

Weapons – Box Office Summary (Box Office Mojo) North America: $89.1 million International: $59.7 million Worldwide: $148.8 million (as...

This article contains a discussion of mental health and suicide. Spoilers for "Weapons" ahead.

Even if you've seen all of the marketing for Zach Cregger's (excellent) sophomore solo film "Weapons" — following his solo directorial debut "Barbarian," which released in 2022 — I'd forgive you if you said, "Wait, Amy Madigan is in this?" She sure is! Madigan, a veteran of both the big and small screen (and the stage), plays a very major role in "Weapons," and I'll eventually circle back to her performance ... which is so transformative that my colleague here at /Film, Chris Evangelista, argued that Warner Bros. should submit her for an Oscar nomination. (He's right!) "Weapons" aside, though, Madigan also appeared on a major network drama as a recurring character from 2008 to 2009 — specifically, "Grey's Anatomy," the long-running medical series originally created by Shonda Rhimes.

The show, which centers around Ellen Pompeo's Dr. Meredith Grey (or did...

Stephen King has praised a new horror movie. King is a prolific author who is best known for his horror novels. He has penned iconic titles in every decade since the 1970s, including 1974's Carrie (his debut novel), 1981's Cujo, 1992's Gerald's Game, 2009's Under the Dome, 2011's 11/22/63, and 2020's The Life of Chuck.

The author's works have been adapted to the screen numerous times. While some of the best-known Stephen King movies aren't horror titles, including 1986's Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption, many are minted horror classics. This includes 1976's Carrie, 1980's The Shining, 1990's Misery, 2007's The Mist, and 2017's It.

However, King also stays abreast of the latest in horror cinema, even for titles that he was not directly involved in. One of the newest movies that he has seen and enjoyed is a project that has become a hit both critically and commercially in...

2025 has been an extraordinary year for the horror genre. Between Ryan Coogler’s epic vampire fable “Sinners,” the timely techno-thriller “Companion,” the emotionally overwhelming legacy sequel “28 Years Later,” the traumatizing trauma-core “Bring Her Back,” and the gleefully graphic body horror dramedy “Together,” horror fans have had a wealth of options to choose from. However, the standout of the year so far has undoubtedly been Zach Creggar’s mysterious ensemble mystery “Weapons,” which managed to become one of the biggest “original” hits in years.

Thanks to an elusive marketing campaign and strong word-of-mouth, Cregger’s film managed to become a genuine sensation, celebrated by both cinephiles and average audiences in need of a good scare. Cregger himself has proven to be a new champion of the genre, as it’s likely that his next endeavor will get the type of elevated hype given to other contemporary horror auteurs, including Ari Aster,...

Director Zach Cregger is quickly establishing himself as one of the most exciting voices in horror. The comedian-turned-scare merchant makes demented flicks that are as terrifying as they are original, full of twists and turns and plenty of surprises. With "Weapons," he's delivered a twisted suburban nightmare that tackles the harrowing subject matter of missing children, and let's just say the story ventures to some wild places. Much like his previous horror shocker "Barbarian" (one of the best films of 2022), "Weapons" is a mystery that proves original horror is alive and well, and any future movie with Cregger's name attached to it has our attention.

The filmmaker's star hasn't always shone bright, however, as his debut directorial feature was a bomb. Back in 2009, he and Trevor Moore co-wrote and directed "Miss March," a raunchy sex comedy about a man who wakes up after a four-year coma to discover that his...

Thanks to rave word-of-mouth from critics and audiences, Warner Bros./New Line’s “Weapons” is holding strong in its second weekend at the box office with $24 million.

That’s a 40% drop from the film’s impressive $43.5 million opening and, should it hold, give the film an $88 million two-weekend domestic total. Last weekend, “Weapons” made Warner Bros. the first studio ever to have $40 million-plus openings on six consecutive wide theatrical releases, and now the film is in prime position to join the likes of “Final Destination: Bloodlines” and “F1” in the $100 million-plus club.

Mark it down as a breakthrough sophomore title for director Zach Cregger, who first made a name for himself with the modestly successful but critically praised 2022 horror film “Barbarian.” He is next set to direct a reboot film for the “Resident Evil” franchise.

Meanwhile, Disney’s “Freakier Friday” is holding decently with a $14.2 million second weekend, roughly a 50% drop from its $28.5 million opening.

Weapons Worldwide Box Office (Photo Credit – Instagram)

With a stellar 94% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score and a solid 7.9/10 IMDb rating, Zach Cregger’s Weapons has already outshone his solo directorial debut, Barbarian, not just in critical acclaim but also at the global box office. Widely hailed as one of the year’s best horror films, it has grossed over $108 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

After recently overtaking Danny Boyle’s 2002 horror hit 28 Days Later, Weapons has now also surpassed the lifetime earnings of an acclaimed movie starring Brad Pitt. Read on to find out which one.

Weapons Surpasses This Cult Brad Pitt Film

That movie is none other than David Fincher’s 1999 dark comedy psychological drama Fight Club, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in the lead roles. Interestingly, Weapons also holds a stronger Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score (94%) than Fight Club’s 81%. Here’s how the two films...

Talk of Zach Cregger’s sophomore feature Weapons, starring Julia Garner and Josh Brolin, has spread like a parasite across social media — infiltrating our virtual watercoolers and infecting us with straight-up nightmares. The tension-filled thriller, about a community in turmoil after a classroom of children goes missing, is riddled with jump scares, gore, and unexpected humor — sharing similar DNA to its predecessor, Barbarian. If you’re looking for more horror films that will inspire you to cover your eyes in new and interesting ways, check out these innovative and buzzy horror movies streaming on Netflix now.

With everyone’s still raving about “Weapons,” TheWrap has compiled a list of films that scratch the same itch as Zach Cregger’s wildly original, tense and surprisingly funny film that’s lighting up the box office.

Whether it’s an element of mystery, a horror film with droplets of comedy, or even Cregger’s very first feature film, we’ve curated a list of unique films that deliver the same amount of fun, quirkiness and originality as “Weapons.”

Here’s our curated list of movies like “Weapons” to watch next.

(20th Century) “Barbarian” (2022)

Of course Zach Cregger’s feature directorial debut makes it first on the list. Just like with “Weapons,” Cregger seamlessly weaves comedy into the story without it overtaking the the film’s horror foundation. “Barbarian” is centered on a young woman who meets a stranger after the two of them book the same rental home. Reluctantly,...

Every now and then, a horror movie comes along that upends expectations, resonates with fans, and wins over critics in a major way. Films like this make their mark and often influence the genre for the foreseeable future. The Descent is one such effort. Get Out stands as another more recent example that hit all the right notes.

An even more recent cinematic treasure that did all of the above and then some is currently streaming on Netflix. Yet, it’s not hanging around for long. In fact, the picture in question is slated for removal from the platform very soon!

We are talking about Zach Cregger’s game-changing breakout hit, Barbarian. This film is unpredictable and chilling and easily stands as the best horror picture of 2022. It brilliantly features moments of pitch-black comedy that offset the persistent baseline of tension that permeates the picture.

If you’re keen to...

As it completes a week of release in theaters worldwide, director Zach Cregger's hotly anticipated new film, Weapons, has passed its first global box office milestone. The movie debuted last week with an incredible haul, vastly exceeding already inflated expectations. Cregger broke out a few years ago with the word-of-mouth hit Barbarian, which grossed around $45 million worldwide. Weapons has more than doubled that figure already, as it aims to challenge Ryan Coogler's Sinners in the long run. The movie has earned equally enthusiastic reviews as Sinners, and is bringing the summer box office season to an end on a high note.

With $60 million domestically and another $40 million from overseas markets, Weapons has grossed exactly $100 million worldwide. It's the third horror hit in a row this year for distributor Warner Bros., following Sinners and Final Destination Bloodlines, which grossed over $600 million in combined global box office revenue a few months ago.

Zach Cregger, writer/director of Barbarian (watch it Here) and the newly released film Weapons, is set to direct a new Resident Evil movie for Sony, aiming for a September 18, 2026 theatrical release. Cregger has said that his movie will be “obedient to the lore” of the Resident Evil video games, but won’t be about the characters from the games, because their stories have already been told in game form. We’ve previously heard that Cregger is writing the screenplay with Shay Hatten (Army of the Dead) and the story apparently harkens back to the original Capcom game’s horror roots. The story is rumored to center on a down-on-his-luck courier who’s tasked with delivering a package to a remote hospital. En route, he finds himself caught in the middle of a viral apocalypse and forced to fight hordes of mutated creatures. It looks like the rumors might be true,...

Nobody 2 may be punching its way into theaters this weekend, but the sequel clearly can’t dethrone Zach Cregger’s Weapons from the No. 1 spot. Early projections indicate that it would open with $10 million to $12 million from its domestic debut (via Variety).

Meanwhile, Weapons had an opening weekend of $43.5 million and has already crossed $100.6 million globally (via The Numbers), just a week after its release. The horror feature is expected to make anywhere between $20 million and $22 million in its second weekend.

Thanks to the film’s word-of-mouth momentum, word-of-mouth marketing is an effective way of pulling in an audience, which has become quite rare these days due to the presence of high-end marketing tactics.

Why Nobody 2 Can’t Beat Zach Cregger’s Weapons at the Box Office Bob Odenkirk in Nobody 2 | Credits: 87North Productions

When it comes to Nobody 2, the movie had a lot going for it.

Weapons Surpasses $100 Million Mark To Edge Out These Two Iconic Horror Hits! ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

Weapons has passed several huge global milestones by the end of its first full week in theaters. The horror film is director Zach Cregger’s second major feature after his 2022 hit Barbarian. It tells the story of a small town thrown into turmoil when 17 children vanish at the same time, and it stars a strong ensemble including Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Cary Christopher, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan.

Weapons Box Office: Domestic & International Earnings

The movie has earned $100.6 million worldwide so far, with $59.9 million from domestic theaters and $40.7 million from international markets (per Box Office Mojo). According to Screenrant, this makes Weapons the 25th movie of 2025 to cross $100 million globally and only the fourth horror film this year to do so, joining 28 Years Later ($150.3 million), Final Destination Bloodlines ($285.3 million...

Zach Cregger Weapons has smashed through with $100.6 million at the worldwide box office within just a week of its release! (via The Numbers) It’s even outpacing the performance of Sinners, one of the biggest horror hits of 2025, which made $77.52 million in the same duration domestically and just above $15.5 million internationally, keeping it just shy of the $100 million mark. (via The Numbers).

Weapons has earned $59.95 million domestically and $40.7 million internationally. This achievement cements the Cregger directorial amongst the highest-grossing horror movies of this year. So, let’s look at how it reached this milestone before Sinners, and what the success of these movies means for the genre at large.

How Weapons Outpaced Sinners at the Worldwide Box Office Josh Brolin in Weapons | Credits: New Line Cinema

When Weapons hit theaters, it had more than just the curiosity that was built upon its haunting premise of 17 missing children who disappeared into the night without a trace.

A frenzied search for answers in the wake of the box office smash has some assuming there’s a weightier allegory but its power is in something simpler and more primal

Major spoilers ahead

For years now, horror fans and critics have grown increasingly and understandably impatient with the tendency of genre films to orient their scares toward a clearly conveyed central metaphor.

The real monster in these movies is parenthood, personal trauma or that old horror-movie standby, grief. Writer-director Zach Cregger is no stranger to this line of thinking; his 2022 horror movie Barbarian is very much a spooky-creature-in-the-basement movie for the #MeToo era. Now Cregger has returned with a movie that may well stymie anyone who has been trained by the last decade to search for an easy-to-track allegory within their viscerally depicted fears. His new movie Weapons has received mostly rave reviews and positive audience response. But at...

Sisu 2 has gotten a huge update. The upcoming movie is a sequel to Sisu, a Finnish action-thriller written and directed by Jalmari Helander which followed the miner Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) violently defending his gold from Nazi soldiers during the final days of World War II.

2023's Sisu was both a critical and commercial success, earning a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 94% and grossing $14.3 million worldwide against its reported budget of €6 million (roughly $6.5 million), later earning an additional $4 million in physical media sales.

The upcoming Sisu 2 has an even larger reported budget of $12.2 million. Additionally, the impending sequel, which was also written and directed by Helander, has added the English-language stars Richard Brake and Stephen Lang alongside the returning Tommila.

Sony has now officially announced the title and release date for the Sisu sequel. The movie will be titled Sisu: Road to Revenge and will come to...

Weapons has passed a huge global milestone toward the end of its first full week in theaters. The new movie is the second horror feature from director Zach Cregger after his 2022 smash hit Barbarian.

Weapons follows a small town that is thrown into disarray by the simultaneous disappearances of 17 local children, and features a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Cary Christopher, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, and Amy Madigan

Per The Numbers, Weapons has now reached a cumulative global box office total of $100.6 million, comprising $59.9 million at the domestic box office and $40.7 million from international markets. This means that the horror film has become the 25th movie of 2025 to pass the $100 million milestone worldwide.

Additionally, it is only the fourth horror movie to cross the $100 million milestone this year, after 28 Years Later ($150.4 million), Final Destination Bloodlines ($285.3 million), and Sinners ($365.9 million).

What This Means For Weapons...

Whether it is gritty action, dark comedy, or bold adult animation, Netflix doesn't shy away from pushing boundaries, which is why it has become a powerhouse streaming platform for hit R-rated movies. From Barbarian to Kandahar, many recent R-rated films have shone on Netflix, and the site has also been great for comedies.

Additionally, despite its 10% Rotten Tomatoes score, John Cena's action comedy Freelance recently saw streaming success when it was added to the platform. We see again and again that critics' scores don't dictate popularity, while Netflix originals like Do Revenge werealso trending on the platform upon initial release. As a result, it is proven that R-rated comedies seem to hold up on Netflix.

Fixed Is Currently Trending On Netflix

Genny Tartakovsky's Fixed is currently trending on Netflix, ranking at No. 5 in the Top 10 Movies in the United States today. Released just yesterday, Fixed is an R-rated animated Netflix movie that follows Bull,...

The battle of the creepy old ladies is heating up at the global box office. A day after director Zach Cregger's new film, Weapons, overtook Coralie Fargeat's Oscar-nominated hit The Substance at the global box office, it has passed another cult classic featuring a memorable, creepy old lady character. Weapons serves as Cregger's hotly anticipated follow-up to his breakout horror movie, Barbarian, which debuted in 2022 and earned nearly $50 million worldwide. Weapons overtook this number in two days flat. It will pass the coveted $100 million mark at the global box office before entering its second weekend of release.

With $92 million at the worldwide box office, the movie has now overtaken the $91 million lifetime haul of director Sam Raimi's cult classic Drag Me to Hell. A tight horror-thriller about a young woman whose brief act of unkindness earns her a curse that must be passed onto someone else, the...

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Worldwide Box Office ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Marvel’s latest Fantastic Four reboot is currently among the year’s top ten highest-grossing films worldwide. With a global haul of nearly $440 million, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is trailing behind Brad Pitt’s F1 and James Gunn’s Superman. Despite a sharp drop during its second weekend, it has still surpassed major 2025 titles, including Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, Sinners, and 28 Years Later.

Now, the superhero movie is just a few million away from outperforming a widely acclaimed spy thriller starring Matt Damon. Can you guess which film? Read on to find out.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Closing In On This Matt Damon Spy Thriller

We’re talking about The Bourne Ultimatum, the critically acclaimed 2007 spy action thriller that earned a stellar 92% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and is often regarded as the best entry in the Bourne franchise.

This article contains spoilers for "Weapons."

That evil witch Gladys (Amy Madigan) might have been torn limb from limb in the crowd-pleasing climax of Zach Cregger's "Weapons," but that doesn't mean we've seen the last of her. The picaresque tale of one small city falling apart after an unimaginable tragedy plays like Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia" was possessed by the forces of pure evil, all blended with the wickedly funny sensibility that made Cregger's previous film, "Barbarian," a surprise hit. Indeed, Cregger has now made good on that movie's promise with "Weapons," which killed it (pun intended) at the box office in its opening weekend, exceeding pre-release projections to bring in $43.5 million domestically.

The film is broken up into discrete chapters focusing on a specific character's point of view, slowly unraveling the presence of a malevolent force lurking in the darkness. Who, exactly, is perpetuating this twisted spell on the town?...

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Box Office (Japan): On Track To Beat Your Name ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Ufotable’s Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle movie is doing wonders in its home country, setting the stage for its worldwide release. The fans are waiting eagerly for the Infinity Castle arc after how the Hashira Training arc ended. It is now on track to beat Your Name’s Japanese box office collection to crack the all-time top 5 grossers list. Keep scrolling for the deets.

For the uninitiated, the movie is based on the Infinity Castle arc of the Demon Slayer manga series and is a sequel to the fourth season of the anime series. It serves as a continuation of its fourth, fifth, and sixth film adaptations, succeeding Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba—The Movie: Mugen Train, To the Swordsmith Village, and To the Hashira Training.

How much has the film earned...

Weapons Beats 28 Days Later & 28 Weeks Later At Worldwide Box Office, Eyes 28 Years Later Next ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

Zach Cregger’s latest horror film, Weapons, has garnered widespread acclaim from critics and is winning over cinephiles. With a 94% critics’ score and an 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s already being hailed as one of this year’s best horror films, alongside Sinners, 28 Years Later, and Final Destination: Bloodlines.

Beyond the stellar critical reception, Weapons is also performing impressively at the global box office. With a worldwide tally of nearly $92 million, the film has already surpassed the lifetime earnings of Zach Cregger’s previous hit, Barbarian. And now, it has even outgrossed a cult horror classic from the early 2000s. Read on to find out which one.

Weapons Has Outgrossed This Iconic Horror Film

We are talking about Danny Boyle’s iconic 2002 horror hit 28 Days Later. Here is how...

From Home’s Box Office Triumph To Smurfs’ Flop — Ranking Rihanna’s Top 7 Films Globally(Photo Credit –Facebook)

Rihanna’s talents extend far beyond her chartbusters and stage performances, with her videography thriving from her twerking her assets to eclectic roles at major film productions. The Barbadian popstar has successfully transitioned from music icon to accomplished actress, proving that her star power translates to the big screen and, most importantly, to impressive worldwide box office numbers that spotlights her commercial appeal across different entertainment mediums.

From animated features to action-comedy films and heist capers, Rihanna’s box office track record demonstrates her growing influence in Hollywood, with her films collectively grossing over $1.3 billion worldwide. Here’s a comprehensive ranking of Rihanna’s best theatrical releases based on worldwide box office performance.

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1. Home (2015) Worldwide Gross: $386.0 Million Rotten Tomatoes Score: 53% Director:...

Zach Cregger's Weapons has been performing very well at the box office (it's already approaching $100 million worldwide on a $38M budget) after an overwhelmingly positive critical response, so it probably won't come as much of a surprise to learn that the studio is mulling over the idea of a follow-up.

THR has heard that a prequel that would focus on Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan) is "on the table" at Warner Bros., though we don't know if there are plans in place to develop it just yet.

"Multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros. and New Line, home of Weapons, are already talking with Cregger about making a prequel exploring the origin story of the strange aunt who suddenly arrives in town."

Weapons plays out from the perspective of several characters, including teacher Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), distraught parent Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), and Alex (Cary Christopher), the...

Zach Cregger explains why the Weapons credits thank David Fincher. The movie is the second horror feature film from the director, who made his impressive debut with Barbarian back in 2022. This time, he tackles a deeply psychological and mysterious story surrounding a group of 17 school children who disappear when they all leave their houses one day at 2:17am.

Weapons has been a huge hit in theaters thus far. Not only has it gotten rave reviews from critics, but it has already managed an impressive box office for a horror movie that far exceeds that of Barbarian. At the time of writing, Weapons has made over $81 million worldwide, a total that is growing.

Speaking in an interview with Variety, Cregger explains why Fincher was thanked in the movie's credits. Cregger explained that Fincher was extremely helpful to him throughout the process, giving the newer director "really constructive thoughts" and making...

There’s a vast world of horror beyond movies out there, especially in the literary space. So much so that novels frequently inspire new horror adaptations, whether brand new publications or enduring horror lit classics.

In a year that’s already delivered an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Monkey and Adam Cesare‘s YA slasher novel Clown in a Cornfield, there’s still plenty more on the way.

Here are seven upcoming adaptations of horror novels that we can’t wait to check out.

The Long Walk – September 12

The first Stephen King adaptation arriving in the back half of 2025 is a doozy based on King’s 1979 novel of the same name. Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Constantine) directs from a script by Jt Mollner (Strange Darling). The R-rated film centers on a grim annual contest in which 100 teens must journey, nonstop and under strict rules, until only one is left alive.

Weapons, the new horror film from Barbarian (watch it Here) writer/director Zach Cregger, has made its way out into theatres. The film has been very well received, with JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray giving it a 9/10 review you can read at This Link, and it’s also off to a strong start at the box office, having pulled in more than $81 million over its opening weekend. The reception has been so positive that Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema are already thinking of expanding this into a franchise and are talking to Cregger about making a prequel that would center on a certain character. During an interview with Vanity Fair, Cregger revealed that he gave the actor who plays that character two options for their character’s back story… and before we go any further, we have to drop a Spoiler warning here.

Cregger assembled a strong cast for Weapons,...

Exclusive: Following a stellar opening weekend for Weapons, their mystery-horror film from Zach Cregger, which has grossed over $81M worldwide to date, BoulderLight Pictures is out to the town with Last Night Was a Movie, their first TV series, on which they’ve partnered with the hot sketch group Almost Friday, sources tell Deadline.

While we’re told the show is a high-concept comedy, specifics as to its plot are under wraps. At present, multiple buyers are circling, including Netflix, FX, HBO and Peacock, with written offers already said to be in from the latter two. The project originated as an idea from the BoulderLight duo of J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, which they brought to Almost Friday. Creator credit will go to Tyler Falbo, a comedic multi-hyphenate who serves as creator, lead writer, and director for Almost Friday TV. Benjamin Purdy, President of BoulderLight Television, developed the show with Falbo,...

Weapons has hit a huge box office milestone. The new horror movie is set in a small town that has been troubled by the mysterious disappearances of 17 students from the same elementary school class. It boasts an ensemble cast that includes Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Cary Christopher, and Amy Madigan.

2025's Weapons is the first movie directed by Zach Cregger since he burst onto the horror scene with the 2022 hit Barbarian after only having previously helmed comedy projects such as Miss March and The Whitest Kids U'Know. It has already exceeded the $45.3 million gross of Barbarian thanks to a 3-day global debut of $70 million.

Warner Bros. Discovery reports that Weapons brought in an additional $6.7 million at the domestic box office on Tuesday, August 12. This pushes its cumulative domestic box office haul to $55.4 million, making it only the 22nd movie of 2025 to pass the $50 million domestic milestone so far.

How Much Do Weapons Need To Earn To Match Barbarian’s Budget-To-Earnings Ratio? ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

Zach Cregger’s Weapons hit theaters on August 8 and is already hailed as one of 2025’s best horror films, joining this year’s acclaimed hits like Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, and Final Destination: Bloodlines. The film is off to a solid start at the global box office, grossing over $81 million in just five days, according to Box Office Mojo.

Compared to Zach Cregger’s solo directorial debut, Barbarian (2022), which earned nearly $45 million worldwide, Weapons has already surpassed its global earnings. However, to match Barbarian’s impressive return on budget, Weapons needs to hit a massive box office milestone. Read on to find out what it is.

How Much Should Weapons Earn To Match Barbarian’s Budget-To-Earnings Ratio?

To understand the budget-to-earnings performance, let’s compare the current box office numbers of both films,...

Weapons Prequel In Talks: Warner Bros. Eyes Aunt Gladys’ Story As Zach Cregger Teases Ideas ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

Weapons has hit the theatres on August 8, 2025, and within less than a week, it has made ripples at the box office and even garnered a lot of positive reviews from the audience and critics. Zach Cregger, who made his name with his movie Barbarian, has come up with another horror thriller with Weapons, and the audience is loving it. As the buzz is growing, not only fans but also the studio, Warner Bros., are expecting a prequel. Scroll ahead to find out what the prequel would be about.

What Is The Prequel Of Weapons Going To Be?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. and New Line, the production house for Weapons, have already been in talks with the director Zach Cregger about the prequel. And the storyline will be exploring Aunt...

The backstory of one key character in Weapons could be told in a prequel, with New Line Cinema said to be in talks with Zach Cregger.

Critically acclaimed, offbeat horror Weapons is fast becoming a hit for its makers, having made $70m on its first weekend. As the 18-rated mash-up of mystery, black comedy and gore continues to draw in audiences, production company New Line Cinema is said to be in talks with writer-director Zach Cregger about making a prequel.

We’ll have to tread carefully here to avoid spoilers, but the word is that the prequel could explore the backstory of Aunt Gladys, a character vividly brought to the screen by an almost unrecognisable Amy Madigan. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cregger’s original Weapons script had more detail about Gladys which was ultimately removed from the final cut – all material that could eventually go into a separate movie.

If you’re hoping to catch Zach Cregger’s horror-thriller Weapons (2025) on Disney Plus or Hulu, the outlook is dim. This Warner Bros. production, a chilling tale of interconnected disappearances in a small town, won’t hit Disney Plus, and Hulu is a long shot at best.

We’ll explore the film’s gripping story, its box office dominance over Disney’s releases, budget versus earnings, and why Max is its probable streaming destination—highlighting the corporate barriers keeping it away from Disney’s ecosystem.

Here’s the Tl;Dr…

Release Status: Weapons (2025) won’t stream on Disney Plus; Hulu unlikely soon but possible later via licensing.

Production Start: Directed by Zach Cregger post-Barbarian, developed by New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. starting 2023.

Box Office Hit: Opened August 8, 2025, to $43.5M domestic/$71.8M global, topping Freakier Friday ($29M) and outpacing Fantastic Four‘s holdover.

Budget vs. Earnings: $38M budget; already profitable with $71.8M opening,...

[Editor’s note: The following story contains spoilers for “Weapons.”]

With “Weapons” a hit at the box office and Zach Cregger suddenly one of the most in-demand filmmakers around, it makes sense that Warner Bros. and New Line would be thinking a follow-up. And according to THR, the studios have already discussed a potential prequel film with Cregger, but whether such a film actually happens depends a lot on the director’s increasingly busy schedule.

THR reports that Cregger had previously pulled from his script a chapter of backstory about Gladys, the mysterious antagonist played by Amy Madigan in the film. Many have compared Gladys to a classic fairy tale antagonist, a villain whose undefined age and unambiguously evil motivations thrust a town into chaos. The lack of clear backstory is one of the film’s strengths, but it also gives Cregger a blank canvas to take the character in any direction he pleases. The studio, according to THR,...

All eyes in the horror world are on Zach Cregger's Weapons, which currently boasts a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes and had a massive opening weekend at the box office. The rave reviews and big returns seem to be a clear case of Warner Bros. catching lightning in a bottle twice, after bringing down the house earlier this year with Ryan Coogler's Sinners. The success of Zach Cregger's Barbarian follow-up hasn't gone unnoticed, as a new report suggests that a new prequel film following one of the film's most pivotal characters (who is destined to be a horror icon) may be in the works.

It would be a disservice to Weapons to give too much away about the famously ambiguous horror film's plot, but one character who is a pivotal driving force is the mysterious Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan). Similar to Barbarian, Weapons follows a nonlinear structure that...

If Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema have their way,Weapons might just be getting a follow-up from writer/director Zach Cregger.

The filmmaker's followup to his 2022 surprise hit Barbarian has cemented him as a horror filmmaker to watch, with the movie earning an impressive box office return and winning over critics to the tune of a 94% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Now,The Hollywood Reporterhas reported that, according to its sources, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. are courting Zach Cregger to create a prequel film about Weapons' Aunt Gladys, based in part on material he had created for the character that didn't make it into the film.

What This Means For Zach Cregger & Weapons Fans

ScreenRant’s Weapons review highlighted the pros and cons of its chapter-based storytelling, but it’s clear that the structure Cregger opted for boasts major spinoff potential. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that...

New Line is in early talks for a prequel to Weapons, its buzzy hit horror film from writer-director Zach Cregger, which opened over the weekend, Deadline has confirmed.

Plot details are under wraps, and it’s unclear in what capacity Cregger would participate in the project, as it’s very early days here. We’re told that a writer friend approached him with an idea here that he really sparked to — one that even New Line’s Richard Brener and Warner Bros chairperson Mike De Luca have yet to hear.

Sources indicated that presently, Cregger has two other films lined up that will take his focus for the foreseeable future. He’s currently prepping his Resident Evil film for Sony, and it’s expected that he’ll then look to take on an original called Flood.

Following up the 2022 horror film Barbarian that put him on the map, Creggers’ horror...

Unless someone else as ghoulish as Aunt Gladys comes along between now and Halloween, get ready for a sea of adults wearing costumes punctuated by bright orange wigs, lips smeared haphazardly with lipstick and enormous eyeglasses. Aunt Gladys, played by Amy Madigan, is among the many memorable characters in filmmaker Zach Cregger’s R-rated Weapons, an original horror movie that is taking the multiplex by storm, much as Jordan Peele’s Get Out hit did in 2017. And just as Get Out became the rare horror title to land multiple top Oscar noms, so could Weapons, with Madigan looking like a contender.

Yet there’s another reason to be on the lookout for Aunt Gladys. Multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros. and New Line, home of Weapons, are already talking with Cregger about making a prequel exploring the origin story of the strange aunt who suddenly arrives in town.

Zach Cregger’s sprawling horror film “Weapons” raises a lot of questions. What made the 17 children get out of bed at 2:17 a.m. and run into the night? Where did they go? Who was responsible?

And why did that couple have seven hot dogs for a meal? It turns out this question actually has an emotional answer.

This minor moment from “Weapons” went viral soon after the movie’s release, with audiences noting the strange spread adorning the tray of Benedict Wong’s Marcus and his husband, Terry (Clayton Farris). While most viewers simply thought of the image as another off-beat throwaway in Cregger’s humorous horror film, the bit actually has a possible origin that’s far more emotional.

If you haven’t seen “Weapons” yet, there will be minor spoilers in this article. If you want to go in completely blind for Cregger’s gonzo original horror film,...

Zach Cregger, in a relatively short period of time, has asserted himself as one of the most important voices in modern horror. His 2022 solo feature directorial debut "Barbarian" became an unexpected hit, which put him on the map. Now, his follow-up, the critically acclaimed "Weapons," has become a chart-topping, breakout success for Warner Bros. There are many reasons for the movie's popularity, not least of which is the A-list cast Cregger managed to assemble. As it turns out, he actually had to start over from scratch with an entirely different ensemble before filming got underway.

"Weapons" takes place in a small town where all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanishes on the same night at exactly the same time. The community must question who — or what — is behind their disappearance. Originally, Pedro Pascal ("The Mandalorian") was cast in the lead role, but he had to drop out...

Barbarian directorZach Cregger isn't afraid to start showing his cards for his upcoming video game-based movie, and fans are loving it. Hot on the heels of the wild success of his latest release, the supernatural horror film Weapons, the multi-hyphenate is flying high into the production of his next project. It's not every day that a director reveals their specific ideas around an upcoming film, especially not when it's a reboot of one of the most popular horror franchises — and in this case, also one of the most popular horror game franchise. The plethora of films based on the long-running Resident Evil video gamesdon't have the best reputation, but Cregger is determined to change that with his upcoming Resident Evil, which he's revealed will be a lot like the beloved Evil Dead 2. The latest news is even more encouraging: The film's also set to star one of the funniest actors from Weapons.

This post contains spoilers for "Weapons."

There was a time when putting a bullet in the head of the "Resident Evil" franchise might've been considered by some as a mercy killing. After the swift decline in its six-movie Milla Jovovich-starring franchise, a woeful attempt at a reboot in "Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City," and a Netflix series adaptation, it felt like there wasn't a hope in hell for the likes of Leon Kennedy or Chris and Claire Redfield getting a universally loved outing. That might all be about to change, though, now that the T-Virus is being placed in the hands of none other than "Weapons" director, Zach Cregger.

After a breakout horror that flourished thanks to frightened word-of-mouth, and now his newest film earning a score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes (at the time of publication), it almost seems a match made in heaven that Cregger is being...

Directed by Zach Cregger, Weapons released last week and outgrossed the filmmaker’s previous movie, Barbarian, in just three days. The 2025 movie made $43.5 million on its opening weekend (via The Numbers), surpassing Barbarian‘s $40.8 million total at the domestic box office.

As of this writing, Weapons has grossed $71.8 million globally, and its strong box office debut makes it clear that its next target should be Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. Both movies subvert the horror genre and were subject to a bigging war over their scripts.

As a result, Weapons is a strong contender to dethrone Sinners as 2025’s best horror movie, and here’s what it needs to do at the box office to earn that title.

Weapons vs Sinners Box Office Head-to-Head After First Weekend

Weapons was released in theaters on August 8, 2025, and received critical acclaim for its writing, direction, and performances. The Josh Brolin and Julia Garner-led...

Zach Cregger, writer/director of Barbarian (watch it Here) and the newly released film Weapons, is set to direct a new Resident Evil movie for Sony, aiming for a September 18, 2026 theatrical release. Cregger has said that his movie will be “obedient to the lore” of the Resident Evil video games, but won’t be about the characters from the games, because their stories have already been told in game form. Now, during an interview with Ringer Movies, he has revealed that he’s ready to get Evil Dead II-style crazy with his Resident Evil movie.

Cregger said (with thanks to our friends at Bloody Disgusting for the transcription), “It’s gonna be not at all like Barbarian and Weapons. It’s going to be a rock ’em, sock ’em… it’s for me to play. And turn my brain off and just make an… Evil Dead II… get crazy with the camera.