The Ghostbusters reboot is finally here and it's time to see how the somehow controversial film will stack up at the box office. While audiences got a sneak peek at the movie Thursday night, the results give us an idea of how the weekend may pan out for new team. With an overnight take of $3.4 million, the new Ghostbusters put up a solid effort, but it didn't break any records.
Ghostbusters is opening against last weekend's major release, The Secret Life of Pets, which exceeded expectations by grossing over $100 million in the first weekend, after being expected to take in closer to $70 million. This weekend, Pets is expected to do something in the neighborhood of $55 million. Sony is being conservative in their estimates, expecting Ghostbusters to bring something in the range of $38 to $40 million. But according to Variety, independent estimates are pegging it more around $45 to $50 million. Even at the high end, this would still put Ghostbusters opening in second place if Secret Life of Pets does as expected.
The only other major release for the weekend is Bryan Cranston's undercover agent drama The Infiltrator, which actually opened Wednesday. Both films have seen solid reviews overall, but Ghostbusters is actually tracking slightly better at review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It will be interesting to see if the positive buzz the film is seeing in reviews will translate into better than expected box office numbers. It's possible that fans who were nervous how the Ghostbusters reboot would work out might be willing to give the film a chance since many seem to like it.
With a reported budget of $144 million, even a $50 million opening weekend is likely going to be viewed as a letdown. While Ghostbusters is expecting to do a solid chunk of business overseas, the film won't see release in many territories for a couple of weeks. It will be necessary that Ghostbusters internationally in order for Ghostbusters to make its money back. $50 million is a solid opening for many movies, but as this weekend's big tentpole release, there were likely hopes it would do better.
There is one other bullet in the gun of Ghostbusters that may help the movie do better than expected. The film's 3D is excellent. As such, it's possible that a large number of those who do go see it this weekend could spend the extra money for the 3D ticket, which could give the movie a bit of a box office boost.
Will you be checking out Ghostbusters this weekend, or will you be waiting to get more word of mouth from the audiences who check it out first? Let us know in the comments.
