‘Ghostbusters’ Tops Box Office in Latest Bid to Revive Franchise

(Bloomberg) -- The latest “Ghostbusters” reboot pushed aside “Eternals” at the top of the North American box office, ending the Marvel superhero film’s run there after just two weekends.

• Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” took in $44 million in its North American debut, Comscore Inc. said Monday. That matched Boxoffice Pro’s forecast. The studio had projected about $28 million going into the weekend, before raising it Saturday to $40.5 million.

• Walt Disney Co.’s “Eternals,” generated $11.1 million in its third weekend in domestic cinemas, narrowly missing Boxoffice Pro’s $11.8 million projection. The film received the worst-ever reviews for a movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Key Insights

• Theaters are still waiting for the first must-see film of the pandemic era. No movie this year has exceeded $90 million in its North American opening weekend, and no film has topped $900 million cumulatively worldwide -- nine exceeded $1 billion in 2019. The industry’s best hope for a blockbuster by year-end is Sony’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which will be released Dec. 17. Boxoffice Pro has projected an opening weekend of $135 million to $185 million for the “Spider-Man’ film.
• “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is Sony’s second attempt to revive the popular 1980s franchise. The 2016 movie struggled despite a cast that included Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon. That film cost $144 million to make, according to Box Office Mojo, but took in only $229 million in worldwide ticket sales, a sum that is shared with theaters.
• Jason Reitman, whose father, Ivan, directed “Ghostbusters” and “Ghostbusters II,” co-wrote and directed the current film. Its cast includes Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace, as well as original stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson. About 62% of critics recommended it, according to Rotten Tomatoes. It cost $75 million to make.
• “King Richard,” from AT&T Inc.’s Warner Bros., also opened in North America and on the HBO Max streaming service this weekend. Will Smith, who stars as the father of tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams, is getting awards buzz for the role. About 92% of critics recommended the film.

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• See the schedule for upcoming releases.
• See Boxoffice Pro’s long-range forecast.

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