Frozen Empire Box Office Breaks Unwanted Franchise Record In Week 2

Summary

• Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
  faces steep competition from
  Godzilla X Kong
  , causing a sharp 65% box office drop in its second week.
• Despite a strong debut, the sequel is expected to gross only $15.5 million over the three-day weekend.
• The latest
  Ghostbusters
  movie has also endured mixed reviews from critics.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is starting its second week at the box office with a tragic record. The sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife continues the adventures of Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), and Podcast (Logan Kim), as they face off against ghosts and monsters in New York City. The new Ghostbusters again collaborate with the original team to protect the world from otherworldly monsters. Unfortunately, it hasn’t enjoyed the same box office success.

Despite opening to a strong $45 million debut, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has not enjoyed the same success in its second week. With Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire providing strong competition, Variety reports that Frozen Empire suffered a 65% box office drop. It is expected to gross merely $15.5 million over the three-day weekend. The drop is severe, especially since Ghostbusters: Afterlife fell only 45% in its second week in 2021.

How Does Frozen Empire’s Drop Compare To Previous Ghostbusters Installments?

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s 2nd Week Drop Is Uniquely Bad

In comparison to previous installments, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire‘s drop is severe. Of the five movies, it has the largest drop by over 10 percentage points with 2016’s Ghostbusters previously holding the record at 54%. Its week 2 box office numbers also put it on par with the original 1984 Ghostbusters when failing to adjust for inflation.

Frozen Empire‘s second-weekend drop is also grim because of the 20% difference from Afterlife. Its drop also spells disappointment for the movie’s chances of success. The fifth Ghostbusters movie has a reported budget of $100 million, which means that it needs to break even at around $200 million. Unfortunately, as of writing, the movie is currently shy of $80 million worldwide, making its chances of profitability questionable.

The Reasons Behind Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s Box Office Drop

Poor Reviews Played A Big Role In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s Collapse

The two major causes for the significant week 2 drop are the reviews for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and the box office competition. The fifth installment has earned a 44% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, marking a “Rotten” designation. Audience reception is slightly better, with an 84% score on the review site and a B+ CinemaScore. However, the latter is a decline from Afterlife, which earned an A-.

Box office competition is the main challenge for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Dune: Part Two is passing many milestones as it remains in theaters, while Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is exceeding projections with a massive $75 million opening weekend. Both movies have enjoyed box-office success, which speaks to the level of competition. While blockbuster releases will slow down slightly in the coming weeks, the chances of the fifth movie seeing any profitability are now looking slim.

Source: Variety