Entertainment Film Horror Weapons

The Weapons director reveals what the hotdogs mean, and it’s actually such a moving detail

It's way more personal than people think

Harrison Brocklehurst
22nd August 2025, 11:47
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There was one key moment of Weapons that raised more eyebrows than I think anyone expected, because it was such a small moment. Whilst everyone was talking about the chaos of Aunt Gladys, trying to decipher what the massive floating gun might mean or stewing over the significance of 2:17 – there’s a specific corner of the internet way more hyper fixated on a plate of hotdogs. This plate of hotdogs was seemingly innocuous, but people had loads of different theories about what the symbolism of the hotdogs were. Especially because the shot of the hotdogs comes right before one of the most violent and gory scenes in the entirety of Weapons. Now, we’ve cracked the real easter egg detail of what the Weapons hotdogs actually mean and it’s really wholesome.

When was the shot of the hotdogs? 

The hotdogs shot in Weapons comes just before Marcus, the school principal, and his husband Terry are beset upon by the malevolent Aunt Gladys. The pair are about to tuck into a tray of seven hotdogs, four cookies, some little carrots, some crisps and a big bowl of ranch when Gladys intrudes. We then know of course that Gladys does her spell, which turns Marcus into one of her weapons and he violently murders his own husband. Brutal.

It’s a strange plate of food, but the reference is actually really wholesome.

It all links to director Zach Cregger

Before Zach Cregger became an acclaimed horror director with Barbarian and Weapons, he was well known for being an actor – especially in the sketch comedy series The Whitest Kids U’Know. In that show, Cregger was part of a group of actors who’d create the skits – and one of the other members was Trevor Moore.

One of the skits was centred around a character called Hot Dog Timmy – where Trevor played a doctor reading Timmy his results. There’s a joke about how many hotdogs Timmy eats on average a day, to which he says seven. Trevor Moore suddenly and tragically passed away in 2021 after falling from a balcony, and the hotdogs moment in Weapons is a nod from Cregger to his close friend and collaborator.

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