Another upcoming hope to buoy cinema box offices is this weekend’s release of ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’, the latest installment in the saga that began 40 years ago with the blockbuster original directed by Ivan Reitman. Box office forecasts are predicting a reception very similar to that of the previous film, ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’.
According to Variety, its US debut could bring in between $43 and $45 million in 4,300 theaters, which would bolster a box office that currently boasts only two major successes: ‘Dune: Part Two’ and the animated feature ‘Kung Fu Panda’.
The potential earnings are nearly identical to those of ‘Afterlife’, which, at the end of 2021 as the effects of pandemic restrictions began to subside, made $44 million in its opening weekend. In US theaters, it ended up grossing $129.3 million, although its reception overseas was somewhat cooler, accumulating $74.9 million and bringing its global total to $204.3 million.
Given that it generally left a good taste in audiences’ mouths, it is expected that this new installment in the franchise could even surpass the total earnings of its predecessor.
For this occasion, Jason Reitman, the son of the original film’s director and sequel, has passed the directorial baton to Gil Kenan. Once again, the team is led by Paul Rudd alongside young stars Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Celeste O’Connor. The original iconic team also returns: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and even Annie Potts, the Ghostbusters’ secretary, who this time dons the legendary ghost-hunter suit.
Sadly, the other co-founder of the original group, Harold Ramis, who passed away in 2014, cannot be present. However, his absence is filled by actress Carrie Coon, who plays Callie Spengler, the daughter of his character.
