Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s New Box Office Milestone Hides A Scary Truth For The $1.1Bn Franchise

In March 2024, the iconic horror comedy franchise, Ghostbusters, released its fifth installment, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, and although the movie’s box office performance wasn’t a complete flop, the numbers show that this billion dollar franchise could unfortunately be on its way out. The Ghostbusters movies first began with the highly successful 1984 film, Ghostbusters, starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, and Dan Aykroyd. A sequel was released in 1989 before the franchise took a hefty hiatus. In 2016, Ghostbusters was revived with an all-female cast, and five years later, was reworked again. But how well are these films working?

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is the second Ghostbusters film to follow Phoebe, the ambitious teenage granddaughter of Egon Spengler. In it, she and her family return to New York City to take up the mantel of the Ghostbusters, however things prove complicated when Phoebe is forced from the team and a new, mythological spirit starts causing serious trouble. Overall, Frozen Empire made $160 million at the box office and earned a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences were more forgiving, offering up an 83% Regardless, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has proven a scary truth about the ghost-hunting franchise.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire May Not Make A Profit, Despite Passing $150M At The Box Office

Frozen Empire’s budget hurts its box office earnings

The first fact that casts a shadow over Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s box office earnings is the fact that the movie didn’t break even. In order for a movie to be profitable, it must earn double or triple its budget. This can be a fairly easy task for movies with a small budget, whereas blockbusters in the sci-fi, fantasy, or superhero genres tend to have more trouble.

What this means for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is that it did not make a profit. Despite making $160 million at the box office, all of that money will be used to recuperate what was spent making the project. Therefore, the movie could be considered a failure in that respect. It made back what it used, but did not go much beyond that. Ultimately, this fact reflects poorly on the Ghostbusters franchise. By not doubling or tripling its budget, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire proves that perhaps interest in the Ghostbusters franchise is waning, or additionally, its budgets are just too big.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Is On Track To Be The Franchise’s Lowest-Grossing Movie

Every other Ghostbusters movie has grossed $200 million

Although Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire could make more money in its remaining weeks in theaters, it’s likely that it will land as the lowest-grossing Ghostbusters film in the franchise. Notably, every Ghostbusters movie that came before Frozen Empire was able to earn at least $200 million at the box office, and the fact that Frozen Empire did not is a huge reason for its failure. If it had just made an additional $40 million, then it would have broken even. However, the numbers speak for themselves, and at this point, it seems like Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is the franchise’s black sheep.

Ultimately, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s disappointing box office indicates a few things about the franchise. While its predecessor, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, did quite well in theaters, making it seem as though the film series truly could be revived, Frozen Empire essentially rescinds this promise. By not breaking even, it not only calls into question whether audiences are really invested in the Ghostbusters franchise, but it also questions the movie itself. Frozen Empire’s box office upset is a sign to look at the movie itself and investigate where it went wrong in comparison to the movies that came before it.

What Happened To Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s Box Office

Frozen Empire’s cast and tone hurt its box office

There are several reasons why Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was not well-received, and they all ultimately amount to the movie being overinflated. While it is admirable that the new generation of Ghostbusters movies is trying to combine the original cast with a new Ghostbusters cast, this leaves the film feeling overdone.

Furthermore, critics noted that none of these subplots were especially exciting or comedic either.

The question as to why fewer audiences went to see Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a bit more mysterious. One of the most obvious reasons is that the reviews pushed them away. Audiences may have avoided seeing the movie after assuming that they would not like it. However, there is also the franchise aspect to consider as well. While 1984’s Ghostbusters was incredibly successful, no sequel has ever had quite the same success or reaction. In this way, Ghostbusters fans may have skipped Frozen Empire after finding themselves continuously disappointed with previous installments. Frozen Empire may be Ghostbusters’ turning point.

What Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s Box Office Means For Another Ghostbusters Movie

Frozen Empire’s performance affects sequel chances

It’s no surprise that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s performance indicates whether another Ghostbusters movie is on the horizon. At this point, it’s a bit early to tell. While Frozen Empire likely will not pass the $200 mark due to movie theater audiences, it still has a few more chances to make money. VOD, streaming, and merchandise sales could potentially boost the movie to a better place than where it is now. And regardless, Frozen Empire’s $160 million is not horrible by any means. If anything, a new Ghostbusters could certainly happen, but with certain precautions taken to avoid Frozen Empire’s fate.

The Ghostbusters franchise is in a state of limbo. Ghostbusters 6 is as likely to happen as the franchise ending with Frozen Empire. And even so, it’s unlikely that Ghostbusters will never return. It’s a franchise with a unique world and plenty of story opportunities so that new movies could come out forever. However, in the next few years, it is unclear whether Ghostbusters will continue. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has taught the franchise a lot about what works and what doesn’t. Hopefully, movie execs can recover from this box office disappointment before it ruins the entire film series.