The much-anticipated sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, directed by Gil Kenan and a follow-up to Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, made a significant impact at the box office on Thursday night previews. The film raked in an impressive $4.7M from previews that began at 2 p.m. in 3,561 theaters. This number is in line with the $4.5M previews of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which opened before Thanksgiving in 2021. Despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the film managed to draw a substantial crowd.
When compared to the 2016 all-female Ghostbusters directed by Paul Feig, which earned $3.4M from previews and opened to $46M, Frozen Empire stands out with its strong performance. The Thursday night audience gave the film a rating of four stars, with an 80% positive response and a 66% definite recommendation. This is a positive sign for the future success of the movie.
Interestingly, the breakdown of the audience response reveals some patterns. The majority of attendees were men, making up 55% of the audience. Surprisingly, men were the harshest critics of the film, with only 76% giving it a positive review. On the other hand, women gave a better grade of 85%. Men over 25, who represented the largest quad on Thursday night at 43%, rated the movie at 79%, while men under 25, who made up 12% of the audience, were less impressed with a rating of 68%.
While the previous installment, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, received positive reviews from both critics and audiences, with a 64% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes for critics and 94% for audiences, Frozen Empire has received a mixed response. The film currently has a 45% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and an 86% rating from audiences. This divide suggests that the film may not be as universally appealing as its predecessor.
With a budget of $100M, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is expected to propel the five-movie franchise over $1 billion. However, the film’s performance during its opening weekend remains uncertain, as some exhibitors reported low presales. This could mean that the movie will heavily rely on walk-up business to reach the expected levels of success.
In a competitive box office landscape, other films such as Neon’s Immaculate and the nun horror movie are also vying for audience attention. Several releases, including Dune: Part Two and Kung Fu Panda 4, have continued to perform well in theaters. Fathom also made its mark on the charts with the releases of The Ark and the Darkness and the remastered version of Rad, catering to different audience preferences.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s strong showing at the box office on Thursday night previews indicates a promising start for the film. Despite mixed reviews, the movie has captured the attention of audiences, setting the stage for a potentially successful run in theaters. Whether the film will live up to expectations and drive the franchise to new heights remains to be seen, but early indicators suggest that it is off to a solid start.