'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Box Office: Why A $16 Million Friday Is (So Far) Good Enough

Sony emphasized the scares over the laughs, which makes sense amid a time when live-action comedies are so uncommercial that even horror comedies tend to flop

Sony’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire earned a rock-solid $16 million on its opening day, including $4.7 million in Thursday previews. That’s essentially on par with the $16.5 million Friday, including $4.5 million in previews, for Ghostbusters: Afterlife in November of 2021. Yes, that’s (checks calculator) a smaller opening day for what will likely be a smaller $42 million opening weekend (compared to $44 million for its predecessor). However, that’s a reasonable hold, especially for what is technically a comedy sequel. And yes, mea culpa, Sony made the right call selling the scares over the laughs.