Ghostbusters: Afterlife earned a huge win in its first week of release, raking $44 million from 4,315 theaters (following a robust $4.5 million midnight showing), well above industry projections that expected the Jason Reitman comedy to kick off its run with around $30 million, according to Deadline. Considering the extremely positive audience reactions — 96% on RottenTomatoes and an A- CinemaScore — the long-awaited sequel looks like it will enjoy a nice run through the holidays (and hopefully pave the way for a sequel).
Meanwhile, the only other new high-profile release was Will Smith’s King Richard which surprisingly struggled out of the gate with $5.7 million. The sports biopic chronicling the rise of Serena and Venus Williams opened simultaneously on HBO Max, which obviously plays a factor here. The film is expected to be a strong Oscar contender, so, hopefully, it picks up more steam in the weeks ahead.
Otherwise, Marvel’s Eternals dropped 60% in its third weekend for a $10.8 million 3-day total and $135.8 million total domestically. Clifford the Big Red Dog earned $8.1 million to bring its domestic come to $33.5 million after two weeks of release, while Dune earned another $3 million and inched closer to the $100 million mark.
TOP 10 DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE
1.) Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Sony) 4,315 theaters, Fri $16.5M/Sat $16.1M/Sun $11.3M/3-day: $44M/Wk 1
2.) Eternals (Dis) 4,055 theaters (-35), Fri $3.07M (-61%)/Sat $4.85M/Sun $2.9M/3-day $10.8M (-60%), Total $135.8M/Wk 3
3.) Clifford the Big Red Dog (Par) 3,628 (-72) theaters, Fri $2M (-53%)/Sat $3.6M/Sun $2.5M/3-day $8.1M (51%), Total $33.5M/Wk 2
4.) King Richard (WB) 3,302 theaters, Fri $1.9M, Sat $2.1M, Sun $1.6M/ 3-day $5.7M/Wk 1
5.) Dune (WB/Leg) 2,467 (-815) theaters, Fri $885K (-46%)/Sat $2.1M/Sun $1.6M/3-day $3M (-45%) Total $98.2M/Wk 5
6.) Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Sony) 2,230 (-308) theaters, Fri $755K, Sat $1.28M, Sun $765K, 3-day $2.8M (-29%), Total $206.5M/Wk 8
7.) No Time to Die (UAR) 2,407 (-460) theaters, Fri $791K (-43%), Sat $1.19M, Sun $718K, 3-day $2.7M (-40%), Total $154.7M/Wk 7
8.) The French Dispatch (Sea) 805 (-420) theaters, Fri $294K (-46%), Sat $422K, Sun $254K, 3-day $970K (-45%), Total $13.3M/Wk 5
9.) Belfast (Foc) 584 (+2) theaters, Fri $280K (-57%), Sat $400K, Sun $260K, 3-day $940K (-47%), Total $3.4M/Wk 2
10.) Ron’s Gone Wrong (20th/Dis) 1,520 (-910) Fri $210K (-62%), Sat $432K, Sun $246K, 3-day $888K (-59%), Total $22.1M/Wk 5
