'Ghostbusters' Box Office: Why A $45M Debut For 'Frozen Empire' Is Better Than You Think

There were several reasons why Sony's $100 million follow-up to 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' could have been a commercial disaster...

Sony’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire rallied on Saturday and Sunday, with a boost from younger moviegoers, earning $45.2 million from a $16 million Friday. That’s bigger and leggier than the opening weekend for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which earned $44 million in November of 2021 from a $16.65 million opening day. This despite lesser reviews (43% and 5.2/10 on Rotten Tomatoes versus 64% and 6.2/10 for Afterlife), a slightly lower CinemaScore grade (B+ versus an A-) and a lot less free publicity than its “Jason Reitman directs a sequel to his father’s most famous movie(s)” predecessor. Considering all the potential pitfalls, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire came, saw and kicked some ass. What other perils did Sony avoid? How did they avoid them? Well…