Paul Rudd, we love you, but it might be a stretch to say we loved your last two movies. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was so bad it cursed the entirety of 2023 for the previously unstoppable Marvel Studios, and now Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has left critics equally cold.
Even so, Paul, you could’ve tried a little harder while attending the Spanish premiere for Frozen Empire in Madrid this week. Rudd can pull off any look, of course, but it has to be said it seemed like he’d dressed in a hurry for this event, or else he had been dragged through the Quantum Realm backwards in order to get there. I must admit, I do like the burgundy suit, but the mosaic-print shirt, especially with the plain white tee poking out underneath, just isn’t as sharp and stylish as some of his other looks on this Ghostbusters premiere world tour. Honestly, it’s giving Hawaiian shirt vibes.
Let’s not throw Rudd under the bus all on his own, though, as all the boys let the team down when it came to the Spanish premiere. Director Gil Kenan played it casual in a dark shirt-jacket while Finn Wolfhard donned a sleek black shirt that seemed to be a little poorly fitted. Only star McKenna Grace brought her A-game, with the Phoebe Spengler actress (and Rudd’s fellow MCU veteran, as Grace played the young Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel) going for an elegant white ensemble.
If Rudd and the guys looked a bit like they couldn’t be bothered to attend this Ghostbusters premiere, that seems to be how a lot of critics felt too. If you can believe it, Frozen Empire has opened to a lower critics score on Rotten Tomatoes than even Quantumania, the most mocked MCU movie of them all. Reviews have routinely pounded the sequel to 2021’s popular Afterlife for having an unfocused storyline that’s lacking a sense of fun and missing much of the charm of the original ’80s movie. It’s sitting at just 45% on the review-aggregate site at present, while Ant-Man 3 is just a smidge higher at 46%.
It’s worth stressing, though, that the audience score is currently at a much more robust 87% , which suggests this is one of those movies that’s made for cinema-goers rather than critics. Unfortunately, it remains to be seen how many will actually be haunting multiplexes to watch it, as box office predictions suggest it’ll come away with a $39 million opening weekend — which is less than the COVID-impacted Afterlife, which opened to $44 million. Maybe next time Rudd should opt to wear something a bit warmer as the reception to Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has turned out to be much chillier than expected.
