By Rebecca Rubin

LOS ANGELES, (Variety.com – No ghosts are afraid at the box office.

The sequel to sci-fi comedy “Ghostbusters” earned $44 million its first weekend. This was a much better result than expected. This is a good sign that families are happy to go to their local theater if there’s entertainment.

The international box office earned $16million from 31 markets overseas for “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”, bringing its global total to $60 million. This latest film in the long-running franchise looks good after years of failure to revive it. Not to be forgotten is that Sony (NYSE:) The 2016 reboot of Ghostbuster, an all-female film, grossed $46 million. This is $2 million more than the opening for “Afterlife.” The film’s $144 million cost was much higher than the $75 million that “Afterlife” had, making it a failure at the box office.

The Warner Bros.’ sports drama King Richard failed to earn rave reviews or Oscar buzz. It was the latest drama aimed at adults that fell on the bottom line. Will Smith played the role of Serena Williams’ father and tennis greats Venus, earning $5.7M from just 332 venues across North America. Although it is premature to label it a “out-and-out” bomb, Warner Bros. will be releasing the film simultaneously on HBO Max. This likely reduced ticket sales. The movie was well received by the public, who gave it an “A CinemaScore”, meaning that “King Richard” can gain momentum as word-of mouth grows. Oscar experts believe that the film could be in the Oscars race. This could increase its longevity in theatres. Film costs $50 million. Smith also received his entire backend box-office bonus and his $20 million salary to make the film available to HBO Max.

“King Richard,” a sequel to Marvel’s Eternals, landed fourth on the box office charts. It was just behind Paramount’s Clifford the Big Red Dog and holdovers Marvel’s Eternals.

After two weekends at No. 1. “Eternals” dropped to No. 2 after two consecutive weekends. It collected $10.8million from 4,055 theatres. The superhero movie has earned $135.8million in America and Canada, and $200.3 million worldwide. The film, which is family-friendly, earned $8.1million in its second week of release. It climbed to $33.5 million in North America.

Warner Bros. sci fi spectacle “Dune,” which brought in $3 million to its domestic sales, finished fifth with $98.1 million. Denis Villeneuve directed the film and Frank Herbert’s adaptation was used as the basis. The movie is set to reach $100 million in the next week.