Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Sony) is the sequel to Afterlife, Ivan Reitman’s loving tribute to his father Ivan and actor/writer Harold Ramis. Despite the (perhaps unfair) negativity towards the all-female reboot, this modest sequel managed to charm fans of the originals, and make $126 in the domestic box office. This sequel sees the series reset to its New York setting, as some demon is making New York even frostier than normal. Cast new and old don their proton packs to work together to warm the city, and presumably our hearts. As mentioned above, the goodwill towards Afterlife should translate to a better performance for this film, particularly due to being back in NY. It’s a shame it wasn’t opened over Christmas as planned, as that would have resulted in a stronger performance. Here, it’s nestled between a bunch of blockbusters, including next week’s Godzilla x Kong sequel, which may impact repeat viewing. But an opening higher than the previous film’s $44m is surely inevitable. Let’s assume $50m and a final tally of about $130m, or around $100m before the end of this season. Given the $7 price in box office (due to it originally being set to come out at the end of this month), that’s a hell of a return. Same goes for Ultimate, where 9 T5 points, 4-6 PTA points, and a high-6 IMDB score is likely, and all for a measly $8. It's the best value of the entire season, so who ya gonna call? Tranny, to put it on your slate.
Immaculate (NEON) is far from that, according to the reviews. This horror film concerns an American nun who moves to a convent in Italy, only to find herself pregnant, with sinister forces abound. What’s interesting about the film is the test on Sydney Sweeney’s star power. The much-hyped actress from Euphoria and The White Lotus drove Anyone But You to unpredicted box office heights, but wasn’t iconic enough to attract mainstream audiences into the sticky Madame Web. With the reviews being muted, it’s unlikely this will explode, especially with NEON distributing, who are still to find their Hereditary or Lady Bird to propel them to the next level. Expect a sub-5m opening and a final cume at the $10m mark. That’s not quite enough to justify its prices in the game. This film is still-born.
Let’s ignore Luca (Disney), these re-released Pixar movies just prove how powerful streaming platforms are for families.
Femme was due to come out this week, but has been pushed to next.
EDIT - apparently it is out this weekend, in the IFC in New York. Damn you Fandango and your false information. If it does report, it might actually do quite well and register with the LGBTQ+ crowd.
Which leaves us with Late Night with the Devil (IFC). This Australian horror is about a US talk-show host who attempts to unleash a demon live on TV. Inspired by the classic TV mockmentary Ghost Watch (which left a young me traumatised for, let’s say, FOREVER), this little film has been getting great reviews and has picked up awards throughout its horror festival run. However, IFC’s release strategy seems to involve a dump in a hundred or so theatres, so don’t expect any real returns in either Ultimate or BO, even if word-of-mouth is good.
Predictions for the weekend
1. Ghostbusters: Bro-zen Empire - $51m
2. Kung-Phew Panda 4 - $18m
3. Doonbugs Pt 2 - $16m
4. Arthur the King Shit-zu - $4m
5. Immaculate Rejection - $3m
PTA: Ghostbusters, Femme, Ryuichi Sakamoto|Opus, Kung-Fu Panda 4, Dune Pt 2
Join us next week as Tranny analyses the last weekend of the month, and the season, with wide release Godzilla x Kong 2, and limited releases La Chimera, and Wicked Little Letters.
