“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is aiming for a $45 million opening weekend, according to Variety. Playing in a whopping 4,300 theaters, it should easily overtake the #1 spot from “Kung-Fu Panda 4” at the box-office.
These numbers would closely match the predecessor, 2021’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” which opened to $44 million. However, ‘Afterlife’ had a $75 million budget. ‘Frozen Empire’ cost $100 million, and reviews are still under embargo until mid-week (usually a bad sign).
‘Frozen Empire' picks up where the last film left off, now taking place in New York City, home of the first two films. Alongside Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon and Kumail Nanjiani, you have the return of original actors Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts.
Of course, we all know the rule: take these reactions with a grain of salt rather than treating them as gospel. Still, I will say that the film tested like gangbusters earlier this year, and Lionsgate clearly has confidence.