Welcome to another edition of Charts with Dan, as we approach the end of summer's box office season, movies continue to thrive. This week, a surprising late summer hit emerged, defying initial expectations. The film "Weapons" topped the box office, raising estimates consistently throughout the weekend to an impressive $43.5 million.

In contrast, "Freakier Friday" had a less favorable outcome with a $28.5 million opening, while "The Fantastic 4 First Steps" and "The Bad Guys 2" experienced significant drops in their second weekends. Other films like "Superman" and "Jurassic World Rebirth" continue to perform well domestically.

International markets saw Chinese films "Dead to Rights" and "Dongji Rescue" leading, with "Weapons" also making a mark. "Weapons" had one of the top openings for a horror movie this year, following the footsteps of "Sinners" and "Final Destination Bloodlines."

Warner Brothers, the studio behind "Weapons," seems to have turned a corner with a successful streak of releases following early-year struggles. Meanwhile, "The Fantastic 4 First Steps" is facing challenges in reaching profitability despite reasonable box office numbers.

The success of "Weapons" is significant as it's one of the highest-grossing original movies of the decade and has received positive audience feedback, boosting its ongoing box office presence. Warner Brothers, recovering from a slow start, is seeing a promising run of successful films this year.