Ghostbuster: Afterlife is expected to top the box office charts in its opening weekend. The latest installment in the Ghostbusters franchise is finally hitting theaters this weekend after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the film to be delayed from summer 2020 to now fall of 2021. The film will serve as the long-awaited third installment to the mainline Ghostbusters franchise and will see several members of the original cast reprising their original roles.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was pushed back one week to November 19, 2021, to take the vacant release date that was left by Top Gun: Maverick, giving it a two-week breathing room from the release of Marvel Studios Eternals. The film is opening in a crowded box office, as it competes with a number of films like Clifford: The Big Red Dog and Encanto for family audiences, as well as more adult-skewing dramas like King Richard and House of Gucci. Sony is likely banking on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend to bring in family audiences and hoping for staying power during the rest of the year.
According to Variety, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is expected to be the number 1 film at the box office in its opening weekend with an estimated $30 million. The studio is estimating a $28 million opening weekend while independent tracking services are expecting up to $35 million. It is set to beat King Richard, which is also opening in theaters and on HBO Max this weekend, which is estimated to bring in between $8 to $10 million.
The projected opening weekend for Ghostbusters: Afterlife is lower than the opening weekend for the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, which opened to $46 million on its opening weekend. There are a number of factors to take into consideration, namely that Ghostbusters: Afterlife is opening after the COVID-19 pandemic impacted theater going for many moviegoers and a larger percentage of the audience isn’t comfortable returning to the theater. Also the reported budget of Ghostbusters: Afterlife is $75 million, as opposed to the reported $144 million budget of the 2016 reboot so Afterlife will have an easier time making its budget back, even with a slightly smaller opening weekend.
Sony Pictures is looking to revive the Ghostbusters franchises for a new generation, similar to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. However, Sony has also had trouble with reviving popular franchises like Charlie’s Angels and Men in Black: International, and so Ghostbusters: Afterlife could go either way in terms of success. Word of mouth on the film has been mixed, with the critical response on Rotten Tomatoes lower than the 2016 Ghostbusters, but the strong nostalgic factor of the film’s marketing may generate a holiday hit.
Key Release Dates
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Release Date:2021-11-19
