I don’t typically like to write about the box office prior to a film’s opening, but there’s something incredibly interesting behind the release of Sony/Columbia Pictures’ Ghostbusters: Afterlife (read our review), which opens in theaters across the country this Friday.
The official third entry in the franchise, directed this time around by Jason Reitman, is targeting a $28M-35M opening from 4,300 theaters in its domestic box office debut, reports Variety.
This is less than the opening for the much-maligned 2016 reboot directed by Paul Feig, which managed a $46M opening and eventually ended with $229M globally.
While Paul Feig’s all-female Ghostbusters was considered a “bust”, there’s early optimism for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. How is that possible when the latter is looking to open with less than the former. The budget.
If the reports are accurate, Ghostbusters (2016) had an obscene $144M budget. Add in the marketing costs and the film actually lost money in its theatrical run. Ghostbusters: Afterlife has a reportedly more modest $75M budget, which means that it needs drastically less at the box office to break even.
In short, Sony set the new film up for success, which should be important for fans of any franchise. We’ll report back with the estimates this coming Sunday.
Are you planning to see Afterlife this weekend?