Director Zach Cregger's latest horror offering, "Weapons," dives into a chilling mystery as 17 children vanish simultaneously from their suburban homes at 2:17 a.m. on a school night. These third-graders from Justine Gandy’s class in the Pennsylvania town of Maybrook, arms outstretched like little airplanes, run out into the night, leaving only one bewildered boy, Alex, behind. This intriguing premise sets the stage for a film made more unconventional by Cregger’s choice to have a local girl describe the ostensibly supernatural events, leaving much of the shocking and surprisingly gory occurrences to the viewer’s imagination, aligning with a successful horror subgenre that embraces ambiguity seen in films like “Hereditary” and “Longlegs.”

Building on the sinister powers of suggestion from his previous work, 2022’s "Barbarian," Cregger once again proves his unique skill in revealing threats lurking beneath seemingly innocuous environments. The disappearance transforms mild-mannered parents into an angry mob, reminiscent of a Stephen King novel, as they seek answers and blame. Josh Brolin plays Archer Graff, a father whose son Matt has gone missing, who publicly implicates teacher Justine (Julia Garner). This reflects real-world anxieties where parents confront school personnel, a resonant phobia subtly woven into the film’s narrative.

Instead of a singular protagonist, "Weapons" splinters its mystery among six characters, separated into distinct chapters. The story rewinds with each new section, replaying key scenes from different perspectives—the teacher (Garner), the parent (Brolin), the cop (Alden Ehrenreich), the school administrator (Benedict Wong), and two others. This prismatic approach offers fresh insights, with details clicking into place like an expertly designed puzzle, from the identity of the person who scrawled “WITCH” on Justine’s car to the motivations of a scuzzy junkie (Austin Abrams).

Cregger intersperses the narrative with glimpses of a face in smeared, clown-like makeup. This interloper, played by an almost unrecognizable Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys, appears more than halfway through the film. Her arrival signals an unexpected campy turn, blending humor and repulsion, and introduces an adult character driven to homicide by the same suggestive force that compelled the children. While the film initially maintains a grimly self-serious tone, reinforced by Larkin Seiple’s steady camerawork and a bone-vibrating score, the emergence of a clear, albeit inevitably limiting, explanation for the events causes the runaway ideas to narrow, potentially impacting its edge for some viewers. Nonetheless, the violence escalates in the home stretch, revealing the community’s division into “targets” and “weapons,” where anything, from a child to a vegetable peeler, can be rendered dangerous.

Critically, "Weapons" has been lauded as a fascinating thriller, often funny and ferocious, maintaining its intrigue until the very end. Its handling of horror tropes, like dream sequences and jumps, is executed with class and control, leading to a conclusion that doesn't offer a neat explanation, leaving audiences with a furrowed brow and a palpitating heart. Regardless of individual reactions to its darkly comic finale, Cregger has crafted a cruel and twisted bedtime story akin to the Brothers Grimm, not the sanitized Disney version.

Commercially, "Weapons" has demonstrated a strong performance at the box office. It continued its dominance by retaining its top spot on Friday, earning $4.7 million, down only 37% from its daily total a week prior. The R-rated original has now crossed $105 million in North America, making it the 13th-biggest release of the calendar year in that market. Globally, the film is imminently crossing the $200 million mark, with ticket sales at $199.4 million to date. Over a single weekend, it collected $13.2 million from 74 overseas markets, boosting its international tally to $83 million after three weekends. Top international territories include the United Kingdom ($11 million), Mexico ($7.5 million), and France ($5.6 million). These are impressive figures for an original horror film produced on a budget of $38 million by Warner Bros.

The weekend box office saw a mix of strong contenders and new releases. Netflix's animated streaming hit, "KPop Demon Hunters," surprisingly vied for the top spot, releasing a sing-along version in over 1,700 theaters. Despite Netflix's usual aversion to theatrical releases, the film, already the second most-watched ever on the platform, demonstrated a clear fan appetite for big-screen viewing.

Disney’s comedy sequel, “Freakier Friday,” continued its run, adding $2.8 million on Friday and projected to hit around $70 million through the end of its third weekend. This sequel reunites Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Anna (Lindsay Lohan), who, two decades after their original body swap, find themselves in a similar magical predicament involving Anna's daughter Harper and Tess's future stepdaughter Lily. The film offers comical silliness and heartwarming schmaltz, playing on generational characteristics for laughs, particularly excelling when the veteran actors portray younger personas.

Julien Colonna’s gripping Mob drama, “The Kingdom,” set in 1990s Corsica, provided a bloodthirsty yet beautiful backdrop for a fresh take on gang wars. Teenager Leisa (Ghjuvanna Benedetti), daughter of a widowed faction boss, finds her carefree days interrupted when she's drawn into her father’s world of revenge after an assassination attempt. She bonds with him through fishing, shooting, and understanding underworld politics. While slow-paced at times, captivating performances, murders, family dynamics, and revenge maintain audience attention.

Other notable films include Universal’s specialty label Focus Features' "Honey Don’t!," a lesbian noir, which earned $1.4 million across Friday and previews, projecting a $3.2 million opening outside the top five. Disney also had “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” in fourth place with $1.6 million on Friday, reaching a $252 million domestic total. Universal’s “The Bad Guys 2” projected $5.1 million in its fourth weekend for a $66 million domestic total. “Nobody 2” projected $3.5 million in its sophomore outing for a $16.3 million domestic total.

Further box office milestones were achieved by two other Warner Bros. blockbusters: "Superman" and "F1: The Movie," both surpassing $600 million globally. "Superman" earned $604.5 million ($347 million domestically), while "F1" generated $603.4 million ($417 million overseas). These represent significant successes for an original DC Comics feature and an adult-skewing tentpole not part of an existing franchise.

The indie success story of the year, Celine Song’s romantic comedy “Materialists,” added $6.2 million from 57 territories, bringing its global total to $85.1 million ($48.6 million overseas) on a $20 million budget. Starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans, the film follows a New York City matchmaker caught in a love triangle, inspiring intense online debates that fueled its impressive staying power. Other new releases included Bleecker Street’s "Relay" and Ron Howard’s "Eden," both debuting outside the top 10. A24 also re-released the Chinese animated epic "Ne Zha II," which, despite a modest $690,000 on Friday, is the biggest movie of the year globally with over $2 billion worldwide, predominantly from its native country.