New Line's horror pic and Disney's family comedy delivered a double win for the late summer box office, as well as a victory for two challenged genres.

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 franchises like Minecraft will form in the mountains, just as old franchises will gather dust for their inevitable nostalgic glow-ups down the road. The wheel in the sky keeps on turning. However, papering over shoddy storytelling with half-baked visual effects won't cut it in the long run. You have to spice things up.