If you had to pick one, would you hit Ghostbusters or The Secret Life of Pets? It began with $19.1 million internationally.
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The weekend take for “The Secret Life of Pets” was $50.6 million, which represented a 52% drop from its opening.
The weekend also marked the fifth straight weekend in a row with an animated film in the top spot.
More importantly for Sony is if the film will have the legs to draw enough moviegoers throughout the summer to warrant a sequel, which is probably already in the early planning stages. The Secret Life of Pets retained first place this weekend by bringing in an impressive second weekend gross of $50.6 million and raising its total domestic gross to over $203 million after just ten days. This weekend sees the release of the animated flick “Ice Age: Collison Course” and the thriller “Lights Out”. To date, the $180 million flick has grossed $103 million domestically.
It may have divided opinions but it looks like Ghostbusters is going to be getting a sequel.
Although it’s the best debut for a live action comedy in over a year, it’s a disappointing result for the blockbuster that cost Sony $144 million to make and millions more to market, according to Variety.
More realistically, we’re probably looking at a domestic run around $135-145 million.
Still, $46 million isn’t a bad start for a revival of a long-dormant franchise and gives any potential sequels a solid fanbase to build upon.
The audience for the film skewed female, with women making up 54% of ticket buyers. Those wanting to know just how well Ghostbusters is doing will find out over the next couple of weeks.
Ghostbusters, though, has been weathering Internet backlash for updating the 1984 classic, and some bloggers and fanboys took offense to the reboot becoming a female-centric affair starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon.
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Plus, the ‘B+’ CinemaScore it received from moviegoers isn’t the type of score that generates exceptional word-of-mouth, giving it the legs it needs. “Woody Allen’s romantic trip to Hollywood and Manhattan of the ’30s is a great film that audiences are adoring”.
