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Zach Cregger, the director who gave us Barbarian, has struck gold again with his new horror film Weapons. The movie has already made more than 180 million dollars worldwide and is still going strong. In North America alone, it has crossed 105 million dollars, while international markets added about 75.6 million. All of this from a film that only cost 38 million to make. That means it has already earned nearly five times its budget, and its run is not even close to finished.
Weapons recently passed a big milestone by beating the lifetime earnings of Cowboys & Aliens, a 2011 sci-fi action film directed by Jon Favreau and starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. Cowboys & Aliens made about 174.8 million dollars worldwide during its entire run. Weapons has already gone past it by around 6 million, and the gap is expected to grow bigger as the film keeps playing in theaters. This shows how a smartly made horror movie with a smaller budget can sometimes do better than a massive, star-filled blockbuster.
The movie has also outperformed several famous horror titles. It has made more than Paranormal Activity 2, Alien vs. Predator, The Haunting, Scream 2, Cloverfield, Nope, Insidious: The Last Key, and even this year’s 28 Years Later. Right now, it stands as the 16th highest-grossing film of 2025. It is just behind Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Snow White. With its strong word-of-mouth, it could overtake both very soon. The only question is whether it can climb higher and challenge Final Destination: Bloodlines, which has already crossed 287 million.
The story of Weapons adds to its chilling success. It is set in a quiet American town where something horrifying takes place. One night, almost an entire class of children vanishes without a trace, leaving behind only a single survivor, Justine Gandy. Fear and confusion spread through the town as everyone tries to understand what happened. Is this the work of something supernatural, a human danger, or something far more disturbing? That mystery has kept audiences hooked, making Weapons one of the biggest horror hits of the year.