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For some, the movie has been a feminist rallying cry; for
others, a pop culture desecration. It's also provided ample
opportunity for internet trolls to engage in some misogyny.
After all the chatter and the gender politics, "Ghostbusters"
debuted this weekend to a solid $46 million from 3,962
locations. Sony hailed the results as evidence that audiences
were responding to its new take on the decades-old property. But
though it ranks as the best debut for a live-action comedy in
over a year, the film will have to show some endurance, as well
as resonate with foreign audiences, to make a profit. After all,
dusting off the ectoplasm was expensive, with Sony shelling out
$144 million to make "Ghostbusters" and millions more to market
the film. That tops what most comedies cost to produce and
distribute.
Sony has been trying to get another "Ghostbusters" off the
ground for decades, but it has often been the victim of original
star Bill Murray's mercurial vetting process. The new picture,
which brings together Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate
McKinnon and Leslie Jones, is clearly designed to trigger a
fresh array of sequels.
"There absolutely will be more [films]," said Josh Greenstein,
Sony's marketing and distribution chief. "This is a restart of
one of our most important brands."
The audience for the film skewed female, with women making up
54% of ticket buyers. It also resonated more strongly with older
crowds, weaned on the 1984 original and its 1989 sequel, as 55%
of the audience clocked in over the age of 25. Despite
Greenstein's optimism, some analysts argued the results were
underwhelming.
"Unless it has massive legs, any opening under $50 million is
not a triumph," said Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor
Relations. "It's still an asterisk. The next two weeks will tell
the tale."
"Ghostbusters" was no match for Illumination and Universal's
"The Secret Life of Pets," which dominated the box office for a
second consecutive weekend, topping all challengers with $50.6
million. The look at what dogs, cats and other domesticated
critters do when their owners are at work is one of the summer's
biggest smashes, having earned $203.2 million stateside. It will
likely inspire a new family film franchise, and is simply the
latest in a long line of hits featuring talking animals.
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The weekend's other wide release debut, Broad Green's "The
Infiltrator," debuted Wednesday across 1,601 theaters, taking in a
tepid $6.7 million in its first five days of release. The look at a
federal agent's (Bryan Cranston) attempts to infiltrate drug lord
Pablo Escobar's inner circle scored with critics. The hope is that
it will continue to draw adult audiences unmoved by the onslaught of
superheroes and sequels. Broad Green declined to comment on the
film's results.
In third place, Warner Bros.' "The Legend of Tarzan" swung to $11.1
million, pushing its domestic total to $103.1 million.
Disney's "Finding Dory" continued to shatter records, bypassing "Shrek
2's" $441.2 million haul to become the highest-grossing animated
release on a domestic basis. The "Finding Nemo" sequel took fourth
place with $11 million. Its stateside gross stands at $445.5
million.
Rounding out the top five, Fox's "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates"
picked up $7.5 million, bringing the raunchy comedy's domestic
receipts to $31.3 million.
Just in time for the Republican National Convention, conservative
director Dinesh D'Souza has struck a chord with far right audiences
yet again, releasing "Hillary's America: The Secret History of the
Democratic Party" to a $77,500 opening from just three theaters.
In limited release, Amazon Studios scored with "Cafe Society," Woody
Allen's nostalgic look at 1930's Hollywood. The comedy, which stars
Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, opened to $355,000 from five
locations. That translates to a $71,000 per-screen average, the
highest of the year.
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