“GHOSTBUSTERS: Afterlife” has restored the luster to Sony’s supernatural franchise. The holiday tentpole easily topped the weekend chart with a better-than-expected US$44 million from 4,315 theaters at the North American box office after succeeding in luring both families and males, the most avid moviegoers in the pandemic era. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”’s performance is a big win for Sony, which was haunted by its failure to revive the franchise with the 2016 female-skewing “Ghostbusters.” The new film is directed by Jason Reitman and is a sequel to the iconic 1984 movie “Ghostbusters,” which was directed by his dad, Ivan Reitman. According to PostTrak, nearly 50 percent of the audience was between the ages of 25 and 44, while 57 percent of ticket buyers were male. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Annie Potts and Paul Rudd, and follows what happens when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town and begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind. The film earned an A- CinemaScore from audiences. The weekend’s other new offerings included the acclaimed biopic “King Richard,” starring Will Smith as Richard Williams, the father of tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams. “King Richard” opened in fourth place with a decidedly disappointing US$5.7 million from 3,302 theaters. Paramount’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog” — which is also playing on Paramount+ — came in at No. 3 with US$8.1 million in its second outing for a domestic total of US$33.5 million. Legendary and Warners’ “Dune” rounded out the top five domestically with US$3.1 million in its fifth weekend for a domestic tally of US$98.2 million. (SD-Agencies) | 