The Great Ghostbusters War of 2016 Finally Plays Out at the Box Office; Which Side Won?
The new all-female Ghostbusters have finally arrived after months and months of angry fanboys losing their minds in the most embarrassing way possible and their SJW counterparts circling the wagons in often equally embarrassing ways. Can’t we all just get along?
Apparently not, as evidenced by the news on any given day the past two weeks — Gozer may actually be coming at this rate.
After all the ballyhoo and endless online bitchfests about the gender sanctity of paranormal investigation and elimination, the Paul Feig-directed, Melissa McCarthy/Kristen Wiig-led, $144 million Ghostbusters (review) only managed $46 million in its debut weekend. On the one hand, that’s actually okay. On the other hand, this is the relaunch of an iconic franchise, and its opening weekend is barely more than a third what an R-rated Deadpool made ($132 million opening). Suicide Squad is even expected to open in the vicinity of $125 million. While certainly not a total box office bust, Ghostbusters is not exactly busting loose either.
Or, as I’ve been saying for months, so many people needlessly sniping at each other for yet another Hollywood reboot that will more than likely be forgotten about two weeks after it opens.
Maybe they should have relaunched it as an animated film because for the fifth weekend in a row the box office was topped by an animated movie. Week two of The Secret Life of Pets dominated with $50 million, leaving Ghostbusters to second place with $46 million and fingers crossed for future weeks and international box office to carry the film to the lofty profitable heights needed to keep these ladies in business. Otherwise, Ghostbusters could wind up on the same “Just Say No”-stalgia train to oblivion as Independence Day: Resurgence.
Ghostbusters won’t even have the benefit of procuring any of that lucrative Chinese money since the film has been banned due to the country’s absurdly arcane laws regarding occult imagery in films.
Speaking of occult imagery not allowed in China, The Conjuring 2 this weekend became the 13th film of 2016 to cross the $100 million mark.
James Wan returns to theaters next weekend as producer of Lights Out, the PG-13 spookfest hoping to illuminate the box office against the stiff competition of animated animals, busters of ghosts, and a new Star Trek.
Speaking of animation, Star Trek, and Ghostbusters… The new Ghostbusters has gotten mostly decent reviews but looks to do only so-so box office. That means both sides of the great Ghostbusters War of 2016 can claim victory and continue bitching at one another for the considerable future.
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