Ghostbusters Is Officially A $1 Billion Franchise Thanks To Frozen Empire's Box Office
It's official: "Ghostbusters" is now a $1 billion franchise. Just shy of 40 years after the classic horror/comedy originally arrived in theaters back in 1984, the films have hit a major milestone at the box office thanks to the latest entry, "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire." Thanks to the new film's opening weekend haul, the series has now ascended the ranks to become one of the relatively few franchises in cinema history that can claim to have made ten figures or more in ticket sales.
Director Gil Kenan's "Frozen Empire" opened to $45 million over the weekend domestically, putting it on top of the charts in its debut. The Sony Pictures release also pulled in $16 million internationally, giving the film a $61 million start to its theatrical run. Looking at the bigger picture, that was enough to push the franchise past the $1 billion mark. The films have collectively grossed $1.005 billion through the years across four decades and five films. With combined budgets totaling under $400 million, the rate of return isn't stellar overall, but when factoring in merchandise and other revenue streams over the years, rest assured, Sony has made a killing.
No film in the series has managed to top the original "Ghostbusters," which has earned $295 million worldwide to date. 1989's "Ghostbusters II" ($215 million), 2016's "Ghostbusters" reboot ($229 million), and 2021's "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" ($203 million) have all exceeded $200 million worldwide, but director Ivan Reitman's classic remains the king of the hill. Paul Feig's 2016 entry remains the lone flop of the bunch, but the studio learned its lesson with that one.
Ghostbusters laughing all the way to the bank
Largely, the movies have managed to do well financially because the budgets were kept reasonable. 2016's "Ghostbusters" cost a whopping $144 million to produce, which got in the way of that film having any shot at success. "Frozen Empire" is sort of in the middle as it carries a $100 million budget, which is big, but it's not so big that it can't eventually become profitable.
In any event, this is a milestone that Sony should celebrate. The fact that "Ghostbusters" has endured long enough in the cultural consciousness to have a fifth movie push the series past this significant milestone in 2024 is impressive. Whether or not there is room for more beyond this is another question entirely, but since "Frozen Empire" only just started its theatrical run, that's probably a conversation for another day.
Outside of the movies, "Ghostbusters" has maintained a large footprint in the cultural consciousness. There have been several animated shows over the years, including "The Real Ghostbusters" and "Extreme Ghostbusters." We've also had several video games, including "Ghostbusters: The Video Game" which was, in many ways, the "Ghostbusters 3" we never got. Couple that will all of the toys and other merch over the years and Sony has made an untold fortune.
From Gozer to Vigo, they came, they say, they kicked ass. Tip your caps to Billy Murray's Dr. Peter Venkman, Dan Aykroyd's Dr. Ray Stantz, Harold Ramis' Dr. Egon Spengler, and Ernie Hudson's Winston Zeddmore.
"Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" is in theaters now.