Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a 2021 American supernatural comedy film directed by Jason Reitman from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gil Kenan. It is the direct sequel to Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), the third mainline installment, and the fourth film overall in the Ghostbusters franchise. The film stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Paul Rudd, alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver reprising their characters from the earlier films. Set 32 years after the events of Ghostbusters II, it follows a single mother and her children who move to an Oklahoma farm they inherited from her estranged father Egon Spengler, a member of the original Ghostbusters. A third Ghostbusters film was in development since the release of Ghostbusters II, but production stalled because Murray refused to return to the series. After Harold Ramis died on February 24, 2014, Sony Pictures produced a female-driven reboot that was released in 2016. In January 2019, it was announced that Jason Reitman would direct a sequel to the original films, with the new cast being announced by July, while the original cast signed on two months later. Principal photography took place from July to October of the same year. Rob Simonsen, a frequent collaborator of Jason, was hired to compose the film's score. This was the final film to be produced by and involve the franchise's co-creator and Jason's father Ivan Reitman before his death in February 2022. Ghostbusters: Afterlife was screened unannounced during CinemaCon in Las Vegas on August 23, 2021, and was released in the United States on November 19, by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label, after being delayed four times from an original July 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the cast's performances, Reitman's direction, nostalgic tone, and its respectful tribute to Ramis, with criticism mostly being directed towards its screenplay and fan service. It grossed $204.3 million worldwide against a production budget of $75 million. A sequel titled Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was released on March 22, 2024.