“Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” a sequel to the sci-fi comedy classic, collected $44 million in its opening weekend, a better-than-expected result. It’s a sign that family audiences are willing to visit their local movie theater, provided there’s something broadly entertaining to be found there.
But despite rapturous reviews and Oscar buzz, the Warner Bros. sports drama “King Richard” became the latest adult-oriented drama to crumble at the box office. The film, starring Will Smith as the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, eked out a meager $5.7 million from 3,302 venues in North America. It may be slightly premature to call it an out-and-out bomb because Warner Bros. is releasing it concurrently on HBO Max, which likely cut into ticket sales.
It was embraced by audiences, who awarded it an “A” CinemaScore, meaning “King Richard” could build steam as word-of-mouth grows. Oscar pundits believe the movie could find itself in the awards race, another factor that could extend its life in theaters.
The film wasn’t cheap; it carries a $50 million production budget. Plus, Smith received his full backend box office bonus in addition to his $20 million salary as a make-good for sending the film to HBO Max.
“King Richard” landed in fourth place on box office charts, behind holdovers Marvel’s “Eternals” and Paramount’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog.”
After two weekends at No. 1, “Eternals” slid to second place, collecting $10.8 million from 4,055 theaters. To date, the superhero epic has generated $135.8 million in the U.S. and Canada and $200.3 million internationally. Meanwhile, “Clifford” pulled in $8.1 million in its second weekend of release, pushing the family-friendly film to $33.5 million in North America.
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