Haters gonna hate, but Paul Feig's all-female Ghostbusters reboot has taken the lead at the Friday box office, bringing in a cool $17.2 million. Though that's not a huge number, especially given its $144 million budget, Feig's movies tend to be slow burns at the box office, with a lot of sustaining power. This opening is also the biggest for both Feig and star (and frequent collaborator) Melissa McCarthy, and so far is staying on track with predictions.

Still, it looks like Ghostbusters will likely be overtaken by Universal's The Secret Life of Pets for the weekend. Though it's currently in second place, it has shown some powerful growth since its premiere. As Adam Chitwood pointed out last week with his Friday box office report, it's good to be an animated movie this summer. With a dearth of live-action tentpole films at the moment, kid-oriented flicks are dominating. Like The Secret Life of Pets, Finding Dory also continued to make gains this week, adding to a huge overall amount that shows a wide and profitable appeal.

The one kids movie that hasn't been doing well, though, is The BFG, which has brought in a mere $44 million so far, and only a little over $1 million on Friday. A Steven Spielberg movie tanking? Maybe it's time we stopped taking him for granted.

Elsewhere on the box office chart, though Woody Allen's Cafe Society only opened in a handful of theaters, it did very well in each, with a strong average that portends well (possibly) for wider release. The Infiltrator, too, is showing some decent numbers for a small dramatic film, the kind that we honestly need a lot more of.


Take a look at Friday’s estimates for the Top 10 below, and check back tomorrow for full weekend estimates. What are you seeing this weekend? Sound off in the comments.

Rank

Title

Friday Estimate

1.

Ghostbusters

$17,200,000

2.

The Secret Life of Pets

$15,060,000

3.

Finding Dory

$3,306,000

4.

The Legends of Tarzan

$3,270,000

5.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

$2,350,000

6.

The Purge: Election Year

$1,960,000

7.

Central Intelligence

$1,560,000

8.

The Infiltrator

$1,485,000

9.

The BFG

$1,129,000

10.

Independence Day: Resurgence

$945,000


the-secret-life-of-pets
Image via Universal
finding-dory-movie-image
Image via Pixar
ghostbusters-trailer-image-10
Image via Sony