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SATURDAY AM: Despite “Marchmellow” in the Northeast weather-wise and a B+ CinemaScore, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is expected to still reach an opening between $42M-$44M this weekend after a $16M Friday.
More…chart and more analysis coming
FRIDAY PM: As of right now, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is looking all right with a $16M Friday and $42M-$43M opening at 4,345 theaters. That Friday is on par with Ghostbusters: Afterlife‘s first day (plus previews) of $16.6M, and should that 3-day keep up, it will only be a $1M shy of the 2021 Jason Reitman directed title.
In second is the fourth weekend of Legendary/Warner Bros’ Dune: Part Two at 3,437 theaters with an estimated $4.6M, -43% for a 3-day of $16.9M and a running total of $232.6M.
Third belongs to Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s third frame of Kung Fu Panda 4 at 3,805 theaters with a Friday of $4.3M, -51%, and 3-day of $15.3M, -49%, and running total by EOD Sunday of $131.7M.
The NEON, Sydney Sweeney nun horror movie, Immaculate, is seeing an estimated $1.8M-$2.2M Friday, and $5M opening at 2,354 sites. Black Bear financed and produced the movie for under $10M. Black Bear is handling the UK release of the film with Elevation releasing the pic in Canada.
Lionsgate’s second frame of Arthur the King at 3,003 theaters is looking at fifth after a second Friday of $1.2M, -60%, and a 3-day of $4.1M, -46%, and a ten-day gross of $14.3M.
IFC has the David Dastmalchian 1977-set horror movie, Late Night With the Devil, which world premiered a year ago at SXSW, which is seeing $1.3M today for $3.3M opening at 1,034 locations. The Cameron and Colin Cairness-directed horror pic follows a live television broadcast in 1977 which goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms. Critics love it on Rotten Tomatoes at 96% certified fresh and an 86% audience score.
FRIDAY AM: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Sony‘s sequel to Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, took in $4.7M from Thursday night previews that began at 2 p.m. at 3,561 theaters.
That total is close to the $4.5M previews of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which opened heading into the pre-Thanksgiving 2021 frame when audiences were still shaking off Covid fears. Thursday night’s cash also is higher than the previews of Paul Feig’s 2016 all-female Ghostbusters, which did $3.4M (and opened to $46M). Those showtimes began at 4 p.m. and resulted in a $16.6M Friday and $44M opening weekend. I’m told from sources that Frozen Empire will require a lot of walk-up business to get to that level as presales for some exhibitors were low.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire received four stars from the Thursday night audience, which always is filled with die-hard fans, with a 80% positive and a 66% definite recommend. Mostly men showed up at 55%, and they were the pic’s harshest critics at 76% positive, with women at 45% with a better 85% grade. Breaking that down, men over 25 — Thursday night’s biggest quad at 43% — gave the movie a 79% grade, while men under 25, who repped 12% of ticketbuyers, loathed the movie at 68%.
On Afterlife, families and the middle of the country propped grosses. Close to a third of that audience was families with parents, who awarded Afterlife five stars with kids under 12 at 4½. Rotten Tomatoes critics gave Afterlife, which was directed by Jason Reitman, 64% positive while audiences graded it 94%. Frozen Empire out of the gate is lower with 45% Rotten in reviews, and 86% with RT audiences.
Directed by Gil Kenan, the writer of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the sequel cost $100M. This Ghostbusters easily will put the five-movie franchise over $1 billion. That might or might not be this weekend, as Frozen Empire could underperform.
We’re waiting on preview figures for Neon’s Sydney Sweeney movie Immaculate, but in the meantime, PostTrak audiences didn’t like it last night at 2½ stars and 60% positive. Critics didn’t mind it at 78% positive. We’re seeing projections now for the nun horror movie, which world premiered out of SXSW, in the mid-single digits.
Legendary/Warner Bros’ Dune: Part Two won the night among regular releases with $2.2M at 3,847, -23% from Wednesday and a third week of $39.5M and running total of $215.7M. The pic will keep its Imax screens into weekend 4, sharing them with Frozen Empire.
RELATED: ‘Dune: Part Two’ Review: Denis Villeneuve’s Spectacular Sequel Goes Heavy On The Mythos
Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 at 4,067 sites made $1.7M, -10% from Wednesday, for a $38.7M second week and running total of $116.4M.
Fathom busted its way into the chart midweek with two releases. Faith-based documentary The Ark and the Darkness did $750K on Wednesday and another $955K yesterday for a running total of $1.7M at 1,010 theaters. The Ralph Stearn-directed docu centers on Noah’s Ark and scientific evidence supporting the biblical tale. Fathom also had the remastered Hal Needham-directed 1986 BMX movie Rad booked at 707 locations, and it did $508K yesterday.
Lionsgate/eOne’s Mark Wahlberg canine sports film, Arthur the King, playing at 3,003 theaters, did an estimated $477K yesterday, -13% from Wednesday, ending its first week with $10.2M.
Check back later today for updates.
