Freakier Friday was born out of Jamie Lee Curtis asking Disney if they could make the sequel after she met tons of fans who wanted to see a follow-up while touring the world for the Halloween movies. It’s helmed by Nisha Ganatra from a script by Jordan Weiss, and is produced by Curtis alongside Kristen Burr and Andrew Gunn.

American moviegoers are sending a loud and clear message to Hollywood: make critically acclaimed, original horror movies and we will come.

The mystery horror movie is launching ahead of expectations in a double win for the late-summer box office — and the challenged horror and comedy genres.

Last weekend, Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis’ long-awaited legacy sequel Freakier Friday finally made its box office bow, earning an impressive first weekend haul that proved the choice to angle for a theatrical release to be a smart one.

“ Weapons ,” a twisty horror film about a group of missing children, and “ Freakier Friday ,” a body swap comedy, delivered a potent one-two punch at the box office this weekend, lifting ticket sales as summer movie season draws to a close.

New Line's 'Weapons' is off to an excellent start at the box office, with previews coming in at $5M+, while Disney sequel 'Freakier Friday' is eyeing $3M.

With $29 million domestically and another $15 million from overseas markets, the movie has grossed $44 million in its global box office debut. Freakier Friday cost a reported $40 million to produce, and it serves as a grand theatrical comeback for 2000s star Lindsay Lohan.

Brent Lang explains on 'Daily Variety' podcast why the success of 'Weapons' and 'Freakier Friday' marked a big milestone for post-pandemic box office.