Sony Pictures’ “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” a direct and nostalgia-fueled follow-up to the original two 1980s sci-fi comedy classics, pulled in $44 million in its domestic opening weekend.
The good news is that’s a better-than-expected result for the film, especially considering some very mixed reviews from critics – the film scored a terrible 47/100 on Metacritic and a so-so 62% (6.0/10) on Rotten Tomatoes.
It’s also seen as a sign that family audiences are willing to come out again to cinemas. Combined with a $16 million overseas haul, the movie is likely to head into profit once it finishes its run thanks to a relatively economical $75 million budget.
The domestic number comes in below the divisive 2016 reboot which opened to slightly stronger $46 million in pre-pandemic times along with scoring better critical reviews and a ‘B+’ CinemaScore from audiences (‘Afterlife’ scored one grade higher with ‘A-‘). However that film cost $144 million, nearly double that of ‘Afterlife’, and so was not seen as a success.
Despite great reviews and an ‘A’ CinemaScore, the Will Smith-led sports drama “King Richard” went the way of “The Last Duel,” “Respect” and plenty of other adult-oriented dramas this year – namely tanking at the box-office at opening.
The feature took in just $5.7 million across North America, though a day-and-date release on HBO Max possibly had an impact. It came in fourth place behind “Eternals” with $10.8 million in second and “Clifford the Big Red Dog” in third with $8.1 million. “Dune” slid into fifth with $3 million.
Source: Variety
