Sony’s film earned a modest $16.4 million at the international box office and —$45.2 million at the domestic box office, bringing its global box office to $61 million.
At the same time, as notes Variety, the North American grosses are barely ahead of the previous film in the franchise, — «Ghostbusters: Afterlife», which debuted in 2021 with $44 million in the post-pandemic theatrical recovery. In addition, «Frozen Empire» has a bigger budget ($100 million for production and millions more for advertising), so the film must significantly exceed its predecessor’s revenue ($204 million on a $75 million budget) to justify its cost. The film is expected to benefit from spring break, but it could be hampered by a strong competitor — «Godzilla and Kong: The New Empire», which debuts this week.
«Ghostbusters: Frozen» has received mixed reviews from audiences — on Rotten Tomatoes, the critics gave the film a 43% rating, while the audience was more favorable with an 85% rating.
«Frozen Empire», based on Ivan Reitman’s classic 1984 film «Ghostbusters», is the fifth film in the series and follows «Ghostbusters: Afterlife». In the story, the Spangler family returns to the legendary New York City firehouse to reunite with the original «Ghostbusters», who created a top-secret research lab, and save the world from a second Ice Age.
The cast of — includes Bill Murray, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Fin Wolfhard, McKenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts, as well as Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt. Reitman is producing the project. Gil Kenan directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Jason Reitman.
«Dune: Part Two» meanwhile remained in second place at the US box office, adding $17.6 million to its domestic box office with a 37% decrease from the previous weekend. In the three weeks since its debut, the sci-fi epic has earned $574 million worldwide ($341 million internationally and $233 million domestically).