Ghostbusting is back at the box office!
“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” the fifth and latest movie in the frightening franchise, has made $4.7 million at the box office in Thursday previews.
Sony and Columbia Pictures’ new movie, which reunites the original stars of the ’80s classic and the cast from the 2021 “Afterlife” sequel, is expected to top the box office this weekend with an opening between $43 million and $45 million. That launch is in line with the previous film that revived the franchise, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” which had a $45 million opening amid the pandemic. “Frozen Empire” will need to outperform its predecessor to turn a profit due to its $100 million price tag (“Afterlife” only cost $75 million).
“Frozen Empire’s” Thursday box office haul is slightly up from “Afterlife,” which made $4.5 million in previews back in 2021. At the end of its run, “Afterlife” made $129.3 million in North America and $204 million worldwide.
Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace all return for “Frozen Empire,” which brings ghostbusting back to New York City after the 2021 revival took place in a sleepy Oklahoma town. Callie, Trevor and Phoebe, all descendants of original Ghostbuster Egon Spengler, resurrect the Manhattan firehouse with Rudd’s Gary Grooberson to launch ghostbusting into the 21st century. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and William Atherton reprise their original “Ghostbusters” roles and team up with the new generation to take down a freezing phantom who wants to turn New York City into an arctic tundra.
Also opening this weekend is Neon and Sydney Sweeney’s horror movie “Immaculate,” which debuted at this month’s SXSW. It’s aiming to debut with around $5 million.