Sony/Columbia’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is looking like it will have a similar start at the box office to its 2021 predecessor “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” as it earned $4.7 million from Thursday previews.
That’s nearly the same as the $4.5 million that “Afterlife” made from preview screenings during the COVID-19 rebuilding period for the box office, going on to open to $44 million and finish with $129 million in domestic grosses.
“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is in near lockstep with that run, as it is projected to open to $43-45 million this weekend. The question will be whether the fifth installment in the “Ghostbusters” series can leg out against a crowded March slate that includes the well-running “Dune: Part Two” and “Kung Fu Panda 4” as well as the upcoming “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.”
The blockbuster will have to do so without help from critics, who were mixed on the film with a 45% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Whether the film can drum up sustained interest beyond hardcore fans of the original 1984 film remains to be seen.
Set two years after the events of “Afterlife,” “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” sees the Spengler family move into the New York firehouse where the original Ghostbusters took on supernatural threats. With the help of Egon Spengler’s former busting associates, the family must take on a malicious spirit that wants to plunge the city into a deep freeze.
Also opening this weekend is Neon’s “Immaculate” starring Sydney Sweeney. The horror film about an American nun who discovers a terrible secret after moving to a remote Italian convent has been well received by critics with a 78% RT score, but is expected to open to just $5 million this weekend.
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