Months and even years of internet squabbling over “Ghostbusters” have to led to this weekend, with Paul Feig‘s reboot finally hitting cinemas. And the result? An opening that’s neither a homerun nor a failure, exactly. Sony is likely okay with the numbers, but maybe not as ecstatic as their official statements sound, as the reboot still has a major hill to climb.
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“A movie like this has to at least get to like $500 million worldwide, and that’s probably low,” Paul Feig admitted to Vulture, and the $46 million start for the movie this weekend, which landed in second place, leaves a long way to go for the movie, which cost between $140-150 million (plus marketing). But there are some reasons to smile. Remarkably, “Ghostbusters” is the best opening for a live-action comedy since last summer’s “Pitch Perfect 2,” and it’s the best debut Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy have had in their already successful catalog of work together. Or, if you want to talk about this year’s action comedies, it has started better than both “Ride Along 2” and “Central Intelligence.” And in addition to critical response mostly being kind, audiences approved with a B+ CinemaScore. However, this is a much more expensive movie than any of those aforementioned, and like all blockbusters these days, international box office is going to play a key role, and with Sony still figuring out if they can get the film past China’s censors (where films about or featuring ghosts are routinely barred), it’ll be interesting to see how this rolls out globally.
Over at Universal, they are watching what is likely a new franchise bloom with “The Secret Life Of Pets.” After a phenomenal opening weekend, the animated hit rolled into its second week, taking in $50.5 million to grab the top spot. There’s not much else to say here, except we’ll spend the rest of the summer watching the numbers get bigger and bigger. How massive will it be? It seems like the sky’s the limit.
Doing okay business was Bryan Cranston‘s drug drama “The Infiltrator.” Playing on 1,600 screens, the movie managed $5.2 million, and a total of $6.7 over its five-day opening. Expectations were modest, and as a piece of counter-programming in the thick of summer, it seems the movie more or less found its crowd, and with an A- CinemaScore and expansion in the weeks ahead, it could sleep its way to a modest return.
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In limited release, Woody Allen‘s “Café Society” was the big winner, with the picture netting $355,000 on five screens for a terrific $71,000 PSA. It’s a strong start for the breezy period comedy, which seems to be the mode audiences are really responding to with Allen lately (see the smash success of “Midnight In Paris“). While that film opened a bit stronger ($599,003 on 6 screens, with a $99,834 PSA), “Café Society” could regardless be on the path to being a big hit.
1. “The Secret Life Of Pets” — $50.5 million ($203.1 mil.)
2. “Ghostbusters” — $46 million
3. “The Legend Of Tarzan” — $11.1 million ($103 mil.)
4. “Finding Dory” — $11 million ($445.5 mil.)
5. “Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates” — $7.5 million ($31.3 mil.)
6. “The Purge: Election Year” — $6 million ($71 mil.)
7. “Central Intelligence” — $5.3 million ($117.5 mil.)
8. “The Infiltrator” — $5.2 million ($6.7 mil.)
9. “The BFG” — $3.7 million ($47.3 mil.)
10. “Independence Day: Resurgence” — $3.4 million ($98.5 mil.)