Ghostbusters: Afterlife Opens With $44 Million at the Box Office

Ghostbusters: Afterlife finally hit theaters this weekend, and it managed to knock Eternals out of the top spot at the box office after the Marvel movie reigned supreme two weeks in a row. Ghostbusters: Afterlife took home $44 Million at the domestic box office this weekend after being released in North America in 4,315 locations. According to Box Office Pro, the movie succeeded thanks to both older audiences who were kids when the original Ghostbusters was released as well as the younger audiences who showed up for stars such as Stranger Things‘ Finn Wolfhard and Captain Marvel‘s McKenna Grace. The new movie has been met with mixed reactions, earning a 61% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes after 204 reviews. ComicBook.com‘s Spencer Perry gave the movie a 2 out of 5, saying it has “abysmally forced references” and while “it’s not poorly made on the whole, it’s just exhausting.” However, audiences seem to be more forgiving of the film, which has a 96% audience score after 2,500+ reviews. 

The other new movie to hit theaters this weekend was King Richard, which sees Will Smith playing the father of living tennis legends, Serena and Venus Willams. The movie only managed to earn the fourth place spot on its opening weekend with a $5.7 million debut. 

Keep reading to see the complete list of the box office top 10 from this weekend…

1. Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Opening Weekend

Total: $44 million

Ghostbusters: Afterlife focuses on a family played by Carrie Coon, McKenna Grace, and Finn Wolfhard. In the movie, the trio is forced to move to a family home in a small town where a connection to the original Ghostbusters team and the secret legacy hidden there by the children’s grandfather, Harold Ramis’ Egon Spengler). 

The surviving original Ghostbusters — Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson — will return for the film with Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver also set to reprise their roles from the original films. Paul Rudd is also starring in the new film. 

2. Eternals

Week Three

Weekend: $10.8 million

Total: $135.8 million

The Eternals, a race of immortal beings with superhuman powers who have secretly lived on Earth for thousands of years, reunite to battle the evil Deviants. 

Chloé Zhao directed Eternals from a screenplay she co-wrote with Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo, based on the Marvel Comics created by Jack Kirby. The film stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie.

3. Clifford the Big Red Dog

Week Two

Weekend: $8.1 million

Total: $33.51 million

Clifford the Big Red Dog follows Emily (Big Little Lies’ Darby Camp) struggling to fit in both at home and at school. That all changes when she finds a small red puppy who she believes is destined to become her best friend. What she doesn’t see coming, however, is Clifford’s massive growth spurt, taking the little red pup and turning him into an enormous canine. The sudden change attracts the attention of a genetics company, forcing Emily and her Uncle Casey (Jungle Cruise‘s Jack Whitehall) to go on the run with Clifford through New York City.

Clifford the Big Red Dog was written by Jay Scherick, David Ronn, Annie Mumolo, and Stan Chervin. Other cast members set to appear in the film include David Alan Grier, Izaac Wang, John Cleese, Paul Rodriguez, Tony Hale, Russell Peters. Sienna Guillory, Kenan Thompson, and Rosie Perez.

4. King Richard

Opening Weekend

Total: $5.7 million

King Richard is an American biographical drama film directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and written by Zach Baylin. The movie follows the life of Richard Williams, the father and coach of famed tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, who serve as executive producers of the film. 

In addition to Will Smith, the movie stars Jon Bernthal, Aunjanue Ellis, Demi Singleton, Saniyya Sidney, and Tony Goldwyn.

5. Dune

Week Five

Weekend: $3.07 million

Total: $98.19 million

Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence, only those who can conquer their own fear will survive.

Denis Villeneuve directs Dune from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth. based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel of the same name. The film’s cast includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.

6. Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Week Eight 

Weekend: $2.8 million

Total: $206.5 million

Eddie Brock is still struggling to coexist with the shape-shifting extraterrestrial Venom. When deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady also becomes host to an alien symbiote, Brock and Venom must put aside their differences to stop his reign of terror.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is directed by Andy Serkis and written by Kelly Marcel from a story she co-wrote with Tom Hardy. The film stars Hardy, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham, and Woody Harrelson.

7. No Time To Die

Week Seven

Weekend: $2.71 million 

Total: $154.69 million

James Bond is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica after leaving active service. However, his peace is short-lived as his old CIA friend, Felix Leiter, shows up and asks for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond on the trail of a mysterious villain who’s armed with dangerous new technology.

No Time to Die is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga from a screenplay he co-wrote with Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The film stars Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Rory Kinnear, Ralph Fiennes, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen, Ana de Armas, David Dencik, and Dali Benssalah

8. The French Dispatch

Week Five

Weekend: $970k

Total: $13.3 million

A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in “The French Dispatch.”

Wes Anderson wrote and directed The French Dispatch based on a story he created with Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness, and Jason Schwartzman. It stars Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson.

9. Belfast

Week Two

Weekend: $940k

Total: $3.5 million

In Belfast, a nine-year-old boy must chart a path towards adulthood through a world that has suddenly turned upside down. His stable and loving community and everything he thought he understood about life is changed forever but joy, laughter, music, and the formative magic of the movies remain.

Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, Belfast stars Jamie Dornan, Caitriona Balfe, Jude Hill, Lewis McAskie, Ciarán Hinds, and Judi Dench. 

10. Ron’s Gone Wrong

Week Five

Weekend: $900k

Total: $22.1 million

Barney is a socially awkward schoolboy who receives a robot named Ron — a walking, talking, digitally connected device that’s supposed to be his best friend. Barney is excited to finally have his own robot — until his new toy starts to hilariously malfunction, drawing the attention of a shady executive who wants to protect his company’s stock price at all costs.

Jean-Philippe Vine and Sarah Smith direct Ron’s Gone Wrong, with Octavio E. Rodriguez co-directing. Smith and Peter Baynham wrote the script. The film’s voice cast includes Zach Galifianakis, Jack Dylan Grazer, Ed Helms, Justice Smith, Rob Delaney, Kylie Cantrall, Ricardo Hurtado, and Olivia Colman.