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The Labor Day box office brought a familiar picture: sluggish turnout, modest debuts, and a surprise showing from an old classic. In one of the quietest weekends of the year, Zach Cregger’s horror hit Weapons returned to the top spot in North America, while Steven Spielberg’s Jaws proved its bite is still strong 50 years later.
Weapons, now in its fourth weekend, earned $10.2 million over the traditional Friday-to-Sunday frame and an estimated $12.4 million across the full holiday. That brings its domestic total to $134.6 million and $250 million worldwide, an impressive haul against a $38 million production budget.
The Warner Bros. Release has been a word-of-mouth success, a late-summer horror title that has outperformed expectations in the wake of a turbulent year for the studio. Earlier in 2025, Warner Bros. Stumbled with a string of underperformers, but the recent wins of A Minecraft Movie, Sinners, Final Destination Bloodlines, F1: The Movie (handled for Apple), and Superman have helped restore momentum. Weapons now stands as one of its biggest sleeper hits.
In second place, Universal’s 50th anniversary rerelease of Jaws pulled in $8.1 million from 3,200 theaters over the weekend and an estimated $9.8 million through Monday. The numbers were enough to outpace two new wide releases, Sony’s Caught Stealing and Searchlight’s The Roses.
Spielberg’s 1975 shark thriller is widely credited with inventing the modern summer blockbuster, changing how studios scheduled releases and marketed films. The rerelease shows its enduring appeal: five decades later, audiences still want to see a giant shark terrorize beachgoers on the big screen.
Sony’s Caught Stealing, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz, debuted in third place with $7.8 million over the weekend and $9.5 million for the four-day holiday. Made for $40 million, the crime comedy follows a bartender caught in a dangerous web after agreeing to cat-sit. Despite strong reviews (84% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences were lukewarm, giving it a “B” on CinemaScore. Analysts called the opening “good-not-great,” noting the crowded field of crime thrillers and its difficulty standing out after a summer of event films.
Disney’s Freakier Friday, a sequel to the 2003 Lindsay Lohan–Jamie Lee Curtis body-swap comedy, ranked fourth with $6.5 million over the weekend and $8.3 million for the holiday. Its domestic total is now just over $80 million, with $130 million globally.
Searchlight’s The Roses, directed by Jay Roach and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, opened in fifth place with $6.4 million over the weekend and $8 million for the holiday. A satirical look at marriage gone wrong, the film earned mixed reviews (64% on Rotten Tomatoes) but better audience grades (“B+” CinemaScore). Its resemblance to the 1989 hit The War of the Roses may have hurt its impact, leaving some viewers with déjà vu.
Overall, the Labor Day holiday generated around $86 million in ticket sales — down 19% from last year’s $106 million, which was fueled by Deadpool and Wolverine. The summer season closed with $3.67 billion domestically, essentially flat compared to 2024 (-0.2%) but significantly behind 2023 (-10.2%).
For Hollywood, the numbers are sobering. Studios bet heavily on sequels, spinoffs, and superhero tentpoles to drive audiences, but the results fell short of the $4 billion target. With Weapons as one of the few unexpected breakout hits, the industry now looks ahead to the fall in hopes of finding steadier ground.
Better luck next summer.
