“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” dominated over the home field workplace and arrived on the upper finish of expectations.

The newest installment within the supernatural comedy sequence has collected $45.2 million in its debut in 4,345 North American theaters. These ticket gross sales are simply barely forward of its 2021 predecessor, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” which earned $44 million to start out whereas the field workplace was deep in pandemic restoration mode. It’s an indication that the 30-year-old franchise hasn’t expanded its constituency past the unique (and growing old) core followers of the enterprise of busting ghosts.

Plus, “Frozen Empire” carries a much bigger price range than the final one, costing $100 million to provide and lots of tens of millions extra to market. It’ll must far outgross “Afterlife” ($204 million globally in opposition to a $75 million price range) to justify its price ticket since cinema operators get to maintain roughly 50% of revenues.

Critics and audiences had been blended on the sequel, which landed a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes and a “B+” CinemaScore. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” follows the occasions of “Afterlife,” itself a sequel to the Nineteen Eighties sci-fi comedy traditional. (The ill-fated 2016 reboot doesn’t exist on this universe.) Franchise veterans Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman (whose father Ivan Reitman helmed 1984’s “Ghostbusters”) wrote “Frozen Empire,” which sees new recruits within the legendary ghost-catching enterprise (Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon and Finn Wolfhard) workforce up with veterans (Invoice Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts) to forestall an apocalyptic diety from igniting a second Ice Age.

This weekend’s different new launch, Sydney Sweeney’s non secular horror movie “Immaculate,” opened in fourth place with $5 million. Neon backed the film, which follows Sweeney as an American nun who joins a distant convent within the Italian countryside. However her heat welcome is interrupted after she discovers her new residence harbors some darkish secrets and techniques. Opinions have been so-so, whereas moviegoers saddled the movie with a “C+” CinemaScore (which isn’t uncommon for the horror style).

“The film options the favored Sydney Sweeney, however horror films should not cast-driven,” says David A. Gross, who runs the film consulting agency Franchise Leisure Analysis, who categorized the opening weekend end result as “honest.” “They’re pushed by the hook: the evil doll, the depraved smile, the invisible or silent presence, the discovered footage, the possessed baby. That’s what terrifies the horror crowd. The hook shouldn’t be fully clear right here.”

Elsewhere, “Dune: Half Two” impressively remained within the No. 2 spot with $17.5 million from 3,437 venues, dropping simply 37% from its final outing. After three weeks of launch, the sci-fi epic has grossed $232 million in North America and greater than $500 million globally.

After two weeks at No. 1, Common and DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” dropped to 3rd place. Ticket gross sales for the household movie had been nonetheless robust with $16.8 million, a 44% decline from the prior weekend.

Mark Wahlberg’s canine drama “Arthur the King” rounded out the highest 5 with $4.4 million from 3,003 areas. It has generated $14.6 million so far, which isn’t all that spectacular. Nonetheless, Lionsgate solely spent $19 million on the movie, so its modest price ticket might soften its field workplace shortcomings.

Extra to return…