Box Office Results: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Catches Fire

comingsoon.net:

Ghostbusters could be around for a long time.

Frozen Empire, the latest entry in the long-running franchise that kicked off in 1984, just blasted its way to a $45.2 million domestic box office opening following a $16M Friday and a $16.8M Saturday, perDeadline. The number is right below 2016’s non-canonical Ghostbusters starring Kirsten Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon, making Frozen Empire the second-highest opener for the series, not adjusted for inflation. These numbers also propel the Ghostbusters franchise past the $1 billion mark.

Worldwide, the Gil Kenan-directed picture starring Paul Rudd, McKenna Grace, Carrie Coon, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Bill Murray collected $16.4M from 25 markets, bringing its global opening to $61.6M. Imax accounted for $1.8M of the worldwide gross.

Audiences awarded the ghost-infested flick a B+ and an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, which doesn’t bode well for Frozen Empire’s long-term prospects, especially with Godzilla x Kong lurking. Still, the opening should be enough to convince Sony that ghost-busting is alive and well but perhaps in dire need of a more sure-footed direction.

Also opening was the supernatural thriller Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney, everyone’s favorite star of the moment. The modest $10M NEON production opened with a solid $5.36M from 2,354 screens.

Likewise, IFC’s The Late Night with the Devil produced the biggest opening for the studio, raking in $2.83M at 1,034 locations.

All told, the cumulative box office was up a whopping 21% compared to last year when the mighty John Wick: Chapter 4 shot its way into the books.

As stated, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire will be released this week. In its debut, the film is projected to sell $45M worth of tickets, making for a potentially exciting box office battle.

1.) Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Sony) 4,345 theaters, Fri $16M Sat $16.8M Sun $12.3M 3-day $45.2M/Wk 1

2.) Dune: Part Two (Leg/WB) 3,437 theaters (-410), Fri $4.5M (-44%) Sat $7.7M