'Ghostbusters' ices out competition as 'Dune' worms its way above $570 mn

Pallade Veneta - 'Ghostbusters' ices out competition as 'Dune' worms its way above $570 mn

CULTURE 24.03.2024

'Ghostbusters' ices out competition as 'Dune' worms its way above $570 mn / Photo: Ben Stansall - AFP/File

"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" scared its way to the top of the North American box office this weekend, taking in an estimated $45.2 million in what one analyst called a "unique and impressive opening."

Change text size:

"Only four other comedic series in the last 27 years have lasted five episodes," analyst David A. Gross said, with ticket sales for the latest entry in Sony's comedy series coming in "well above average for the genre."

Still, with a $100 million budget, "Frozen Empire" has a way to go to reach profitability.

Co-written by Jason Reitman, whose father Ivan Reitman directed the original "Ghostbusters" in 1984, the film teams a new cadre of ghost catchers (Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon) with the veterans (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson) as they take on a frightening deity trying to launch a new Ice Age.

Meanwhile Warner Bros.' sci-fi epic "Dune: Part Two," about war and survival in an inhospitable sand-covered planet, again managed a strong second place, taking in an estimated $17.6 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period.

It has now earned $233.3 million in the US and Canada and $341 million internationally, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.

In third, dropping two spots from last weekend, was Universal and DreamWorks Animation's martial arts comedy "Kung Fu Panda 4," at $16.8 million.

"Immaculate," a new psychological horror film from indie studio Neon and starring Sydney Sweeney, placed fourth at $5.4 million.

Sweeney, a graduate of hit TV series "Euphoria" and recent rom-com "Anyone But You," plays a nun who -- despite her virginity -- becomes pregnant. Other nuns in her remote Italian convent at first treat her as the next Virgin Mary -- but then things start getting creepy -- very creepy.

And in fifth spot was Lionsgate's "Arthur the King," at $4.4 million. Mark Wahlberg plays an adventurer who befriends an injured stray dog.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Late Night With the Devil" ($2.8 million)

"Imaginary" ($2.8 million)

"Love Lies Bleeding" ($1.6 million)

"Cabrini" ($1.4 million)

"Bob Marley: One Love" ($1.1 million)

A.Saggese--PV

Jersey Boys Anniversary Tour Opens in Birmingham With Gritty Account of Crime and Fame

The 20th-anniversary tour of Jersey Boys has opened at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre, offering a gritty and unvarnished look at the Four Seasons’ journey. The production details the band's turbulent rise from New Jersey petty criminals to international rock stars, highlighting the complex personal costs behind their musical success.

UBC professor describes police call after Galloway remark as act of care

VANCOUVER — A University of British Columbia professor has testified about a colleague’s decision to call police to visit Steven Galloway after he was accused of sexual assault, describing it as an “act of care” toward the author, who had spoken of killing himself. Galloway, who is suing his accuser and others in a defamation trial centred on the unproven allegations, has described his subsequent committal to a hospital in the United States as “terrifying.

Pallade Veneta - 'Ghostbusters' ices out competition as 'Dune' worms its way above $570 mn