Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire to scare up $45 million box office opening, pushing the franchise over $1 billion

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will hit theaters in just a few days, and box office projections are looking bright, with the sequel set for a $45 million opening.

This number puts Frozen Empire roughly on par with Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which earned a $44 million opening upon its release in 2021. Afterlife went on to gross $204 million worldwide, but I can only assume that Sony hopes Frozen Empire goes a little further, particularly as they have plans for more installments of the franchise. Frozen Empire will also push the Ghostbusters franchise past the $1 billion mark at the box office within a week of release, with the previous four movies generating $945.2 million.

Here’s the synopsis for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: “The Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.” The film stars Queen of Physical Media Carrie Coon, as well as Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, and Annie Potts. The original Ghostbusters, consisting of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson, will also appear, and director Gil Kenan has said that they will be treated like “actual characters” this time around.

Our own Chris Bumbray recently caught the sequel, and while he had fun, he didn’t feel as though it was as good as Afterlife. “I was a big fan of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Jason Reitman’s film skillfully blended nostalgia with a new take on the franchise that opened up the Ghostbusters universe in an inclusive way. It welcomed new fans without alienating old ones, something the 2016 reboot notoriously failed at,” Bumbray wrote. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire seems to be aimed at building the franchise out more extensively. While it’s still a fun, nostalgia-driven return to the Ghostbusting universe, it’s not as good as the last film and spreads itself too thin to do the new characters justice.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s review right here.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will hit theaters on March 22nd.