Box Office | ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ Leads Box Office With $45 Million Debut

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” reigned supreme at the domestic box office, surpassing expectations.

The newest addition to Sony’s comedic supernatural series amassed $45.2 million in its opening weekend across 4,345 theaters in North America. Initially projected to reach $42 million, “Frozen Empire” exceeded forecasts thanks to a stronger-than-anticipated Sunday turnout. Internationally, the film garnered a lukewarm $16.4 million from 25 markets, resulting in a global debut of $61 million.

However, despite its promising domestic performance, “Frozen Empire” only narrowly surpassed its 2021 predecessor, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” which opened with $44 million during the gradual recovery of the box office from the pandemic. This suggests that the franchise, now three decades old, has primarily retained its original (and aging) fan base without significantly expanding its audience.

Moreover, “Frozen Empire” carries a higher production budget compared to its predecessor, costing $100 million to produce along with additional millions for marketing. To justify its price tag, the film will need to significantly outperform “Afterlife,” which grossed $204 million globally against a $75 million budget. Since theaters typically retain around 50% of revenues, Sony is banking on the movie's potential to capitalize on the spring break season. Nevertheless, “Frozen Empire” will face stiff competition next weekend from “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.”

Opinions on the sequel have been divided among critics and audiences, reflected in its 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a “B+” CinemaScore. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” continues the story from “Afterlife,” itself a sequel to the beloved 1980s sci-fi comedy classic. (The unsuccessful 2016 reboot is disregarded in this universe.) Penned by franchise veterans Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman (son of Ivan Reitman, director of the original “Ghostbusters”), “Frozen Empire” introduces new recruits (Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, and Finn Wolfhard) joining forces with seasoned veterans (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts) to thwart an apocalyptic deity and prevent a second Ice Age.

Among this weekend’s other releases, Sydney Sweeney’s religious horror film “Immaculate” debuted in fourth place with a modest $5.3 million from 2,354 theaters. Distributed by Neon, the movie follows Sweeney as an American nun who uncovers dark secrets in a remote Italian convent. Reviews have been mixed, and audiences graded it with a “C+” CinemaScore, a common reception for the horror genre.

In other box office highlights, “Dune: Part Two” maintained its strong showing in second place, earning $17.6 million from 3,437 venues, marking a mere 37% drop from its previous weekend. The sci-fi epic has amassed $233 million in North America and $574 million globally after three weeks of release.

Following two weeks in the top spot, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” slipped to third place, though it still raked in $16.8 million, indicating robust performance among family audiences. The film has grossed $133 million domestically and $268 million globally thus far.

“Arthur the King,” Mark Wahlberg’s canine drama, rounded out the top five with $4.4 million from 3,003 locations, bringing its total earnings to $14.6 million. Despite its modest performance, Lionsgate’s investment of $19 million in the film may mitigate its box office shortfall.

On the independent circuit, “Late Night With the Devil” debuted in sixth place, earning $2.8 million from 1,034 venues, including a symbolic $666,666 on Sunday. This marks the highest opening weekend for distributor IFC Films, surpassing the record set by 2022’s “Watcher” with $826,775. The low-budget thriller stars David Dastmalchian as a late-night talk show host who encounters a live Satanic event while on air.