Sony Pictures is celebrating a major milestone for a beloved franchise this week. The iconic Ghostbusters have officially broken through the billion-dollar barrier at the worldwide box office, thanks to the chilling success of their latest adventure, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.”
“Frozen Empire,” the highly anticipated sequel to 2021’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” serves as the fifth installment in the supernatural comedy series. It debuted with a robust $45.2 million domestically in its opening weekend, according to Comscore. This impressive showing nearly mirrors the $44 million opening haul of its predecessor, demonstrating the franchise’s continued hold on audiences.
However, “Frozen Empire” didn’t stop there. It grossed an additional $16.4 million internationally, pushing its global premiere weekend total to a monstrous $61.6 million. This international success, coupled with strong domestic numbers, has propelled the Ghostbusters franchise past the coveted $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office.
The film reunites the original Ghostbusters team – Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts – with the Spengler family, played by Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, and Carrie Coon. Paul Rudd also reprises his role as Gary Grooberson from “Afterlife,” making for a star-studded spectral showdown.
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Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Rudd described filming with the original Ghostbusters cast as a “surreal experience.” He recounted the mutual awe he and his co-star Carrie Coon shared, “kind of looking over at each other without saying it. You could see it in each other’s eyes of like, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe we’re here.'”
While the initial excitement might have subsided slightly to allow for actual filming, Rudd admits, “the kind of appeal and kind of strangeness of it all never really left us.”
