The all-female remake of Ghostbusters just barely beat box office estimates this weekend.
The comedy-action film — starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, opened with $45 million at 3,950 locations on Friday and Saturday to take the #2 spot.
Sony Studios budgeted $144 million for Ghostbusters. The budget must be recouped before the studio turns a profit.
As predicted, the animated children’s film Secret Life Of Pets held on to the #1 spot for the 2nd straight week with $50.4 million.
Rounding out the top 5 films this weekend are The Legend of Tarzan ($11.5 million), Finding Dory ($11 million), and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates ($7.3 million).
Ghostbusters did better than expected despite the rude reception it received on social media from fans of the 1984 original.
Sony’s marketing department may have gotten help from Jones’ timely publicity stunt.
The 48-year-old Saturday Night Live star took to Twitter.com to complain bitterly that top tier fashion designers refused to dress her for red carpet premieres.
That’s when Project Runway alumnus Christian Siriano came through with an off-the-rack frock that drew oohs and aahs from easily impressed fashion bloggers.
Maybe it was just a coincidence that Siriano happened to tie the knot with his boyfriend, Brad Walsh, that same weekend?
