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Joker 2 Box Office (Worldwide): Beats Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker: Folie a Deux is probably the biggest disappointment of this year so far. People were hyped up about it and anticipated every announcement regarding Joker 2. But everything fell flat when it arrived at the cinema. However, it has managed to surpass Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s global haul and move ahead in the list. Scroll below for the deets.

The 2024 movie is the sequel to 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It featured Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mackenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor and Logan Kim. In addition, the Og Ghostbusters cast comprising Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton reprised their roles in the movie. Also, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, and James Acaster joined them.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was released in March this year and opened to $45.00 million in the US.

Based on a best-selling novel by Judith Rossner (which itself was inspired by a true crime case), the 1977 sexual thriller Looking for Mr. Goodbar was a box office success and earned two Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Tuesday Weld and Best Cinematography for William A. Fraker. Star Diane Keaton also earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. And yet, for a film, this was a film lost to time, as it never made it past the VHS and LaserDisc age of home video – apparently due to music licensing issues. Thankfully, it looks like the folks at Vinegar Syndrome have finally solved the problem, as Looking for Mr. Goodbar has leap-frogged over DVD and received a 4K Uhd and Blu-ray release! Limited to 8,000 units, this Vinegar Syndrome release can be ordered at This Link.

The 2-disc 4K Uhd/Blu-ray set comes with...

The Lumière Film Festival’s International Classic Film Market (Mifc) marks its 12th edition with a wide-ranging program that examines the latest restorations from NBCUniversal and leading French distributors and tackles some of the heritage cinema sector’s most pressing issues.

Running Oct. 15-18, the Mifc this year explores opportunities for the DVD and Blu-ray market and movie theaters, the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI), the impact of Jean-Jacques Annaud’s 1986 classic “The Name of the Rose” and the heritage sector of Lithuania, this year’s country of honor.

Speaking to Variety, Gérald Duchaussoy, who oversees programming and coordination at the Mifc, said it was particularly important to look at the U.S. market to identify trends in the sector, both among streaming platforms and movie theaters.

Duchaussoy will moderate a discussion with Cassandra Moore, vice president of mastering and archive at NBCUniversal.

“It was very important for us...

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire got off to a slow start at the box office, but ended up making over $100 million domestically, showing the franchise still has signs of life. Some will say this is the fourth Ghostbusters film, but of course, we all know it’s actually the fifth, as you have to count Paul Feig’s reboot to a certain extent. While critics have been cool on Gil Kenan’s addition to the franchise, fans seem to really be enjoying the film, which gives the Og Ghostbusters enhanced roles. All this got me thinking: what are the best Ghostbusters films? So, I had to do it – here’s my Ghostbusters Movies Ranked list. I’m sure this will inspire a little debate, so let me know what you think of this list in the comments below – even if you hate it. Note that this list is from worst to best.

This September, Hulu is bringing you a lot of entertainment with the highly anticipated Season 2 of The Old Man, an all-new sports drama series, and the second season of the brilliant animated series Krapopolis. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Hulu this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 5 best films that are coming to Hulu in September 2024 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (September 1)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a dystopian sci-fi action thriller directed by Matt Reeves from a screenplay co-written by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver. The 2014 film is the second film in the Planet of the Apes reboot film series and it revolves around Caesar, the chimpanzee leader of the evolved apes. He...

Can you imagine a spectacle involving the roar of engines & the suspense of pursuit, yet moving at the pace of molasses? Picture this: on a balmy June evening in 1994, a white Ford Bronco glided across California’s freeways, carrying a precious cargo more gripping than the Super Bowl. At the helm was Al Cowlings, and in the backseat sat O.J. Simpson, in a situation tense enough to make the hands of a clock hold their breath.

This live slow-motion drama became one of television’s most-watched events, with an entire nation scarcely believing that sometimes truth can indeed be stranger than fiction. And don’t forget Steven Spielberg’s The Sugarland Express, which released similar cinematic chaos with Goldie Hawn & William Atherton leading a parade of cops.

Steven Spielberg’s The Sugarland Express | Universal Pictures

Spielberg himself, drawn back to the memories of his directorial debut, couldn’t help but...

Stars: Eric Mabius, Kirsten Dunst, Fred Ward, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Debbie Fan, William Atherton, David Jean Thomas, Grant Shaud, Dale Midkiff, Walton Goggins | Written by Chip Johannessen | Directed by Bharat Nalluri

The Crow: Salvation is the third instalment in the franchise that began with the iconic 1994 film The Crow, recently released on 4K Uhd, starring Brandon Lee. Directed by Bharat Nalluri, The Crow: Salvation attempts to recapture the dark, gothic allure that made the original a cult classic but falls short in several areas when compared to its predecessors.

The film follows Alex Corvis (Eric Mabius), who is wrongly executed for the murder of his girlfriend, Lauren (Jodi Lyn O’Keefe). After being resurrected by the mystical crow, Alex seeks to uncover the conspiracy behind Lauren’s death and his own wrongful conviction. Unlike the vengeful rock musician Eric Draven from the original film, Alex is a more subdued character.

The surprise success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife breathed new life into a moribund franchise, giving us a new generation of supernatural sleuths to cheer for. It was very touching to see the original quartet suit up one more time and kick ghostly ass. But, it was clear the torch was being passed to Egon Spengler’s daughter, Callie) Carrie Coon, and her children Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), along with their science teacher Gary Gooberson (Paul Rudd). With her inheritance of the original Ghostbusters HQ, the stage was set.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is the result, and the film, out now on streaming and disc, is a hodge-podge of characters, concepts, and conundrums that are so filled with characters the emotional undercurrents are given the shortest of shrift.

Phoebe is clearly the genius, the true heir to Egon, but her youthfulness gets her sidelined by Mayor Walter Peck (William Atherton...

When it comes to diversity in filmmaking, Steven Spielberg tops the list. Over many decades of being one of Hollywood’s greatest directors, Spielberg has shown that he can never be boxed into one specific genre by becoming the master in everything. In 1982, he directed E.T. The Extra Terrestrial which went on to become one of Hollywood’s cult classics.

Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg (image credit: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

The film about the relationship between an alien and a young boy, hit front and center for viewers worldwide for the way in which the Oscar winner expertly wove beautiful emotions into a sci-fi film. But Spielberg admitted that he lost a lot of sleep on how to pitch this multi-layered narrative to audiences, which made him seriously doubt his capability as a filmmaker.

Steven Spielberg Had Nightmares About His Iconic Film E.T.

There are some films in...

Stars: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, William Atherton, James Acaster | Written by Gil Kenan, Jason Reitman | Directed by Gil Kenan

The Ghostbusters are back in New York for the second instalment of the sequel-slash-reboot series, following 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. This time round, it’s directed by Gil Kenan, who co-wrote both Afterlife and Frozen Empire with Jason Reitman. Effectively energised by the New York setting, the sequel has evidently learned from the disastrous mistakes of the previous film and emerges as an entertaining adventure in its own right, though it’s not entirely without problems.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire jumps right into the Ghostbusting action, with the new team – former science teacher Gary Groobersom (Paul Rudd), Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) and her two teenage children Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace...

Donald Sutherland, the beloved actor who starred in scores of films from The Dirty Dozen, Mash and Klute to Animal House and Ordinary People to Pride & Prejudice and The Hunger Games franchise and won an Emmy for Citizen X, died Thursday in Miami after a long illness. He was 88.

The 2017 Honorary Oscar recipient also is the father of Emmy-winning 24 and Designated Survivor actor Kiefer Sutherland and veteran CAA Media Finance exec Roeg Sutherland. CAA confirmed the news to Deadline.

Related: Remembering Donald Sutherland: A Career In Photos

In some of his most well-known roles, he perfected a laconic, wry and dead-serious delivery. Such was the case for characters including the cool-headed amateur murder investigator John Klute, opposite Jane Fonda’s terrified and erratic call girl Bree Daniels in Klute; as Hawkeye Pierce in the film Mash, where he played opposite Elliott Gould’s cut-up Trapper John; and in Nicolas Roeg...

Jake Gyllenhaal is an attorney accused of murder in the Apple TV+ limited series “Presumed Innocent,” which is based on the Scott Turow novel.

Here’s who plays who in the rest of the cast and where you might have seen the cast before. Where appropriate, we’ve also listed who played the character in the 1990 movie that starred Harrison Ford, but not all the characters in the series line up with those in the movie.

The first two episodes premiered on June 12 and subsequent episodes debut on Wednesdays through July 24.

Jake Gyllenhaal as Rusty Sabich Jake Gyllenhaal as Rusty Sabich in “Presumed Innocent” (Credit: Apple)

The “Zodiac” star plays Chicago prosecutor Rusty Sabich, who is accused of the brutal murder of his mistress Carolyn Polhemus who was also his colleague. Gyllenhaal recently starred in the “Road House” remake and will return for its sequel. In the 1990 movie, Harrison Ford played this role.

While Jaws was the film that put Steven Spielberg on the Hollywood map, the filmmaker began his theatrical directing debut a year before in 1974 with The Sugarland Express. This crime drama starring Goldie Hawn in the lead role, was screened in the presence of Spielberg at this year’s Tribeca Festival as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of its release.

Hollywood director Steven Spielberg (image credit: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

Speaking at the event, the Oscar winner recalled his association with Universal Pictures and the challenges the film was faced with. With the production company having one major non-negotiable condition for the film to be given the green signal, the Jurassic Park director revealed how Hawn’s presence saved the day for him.

Goldie Hawn Made Steven Spielberg’s Debut Film A Reality

In 1974, Steven Spielberg took his first step to becoming the iconic filmmaker he is today with...

Apple, or at least its technology, was worried about the health and well-being of Hollywood’s greatest director.

In the middle of Steven Spielberg’s Tribeca Festival talk on Saturday, where the filmmaker was celebrating the 50th anniversary of his debut feature, “The Sugarland Express,” he was interrupted by his Apple watch with a message that read “It looks like you’ve taken a hard fall.” Spielberg jokingly said “I’m not going to press the Sos [button]” before throwing it on the ground. “I’ll pick it up later,” he said, only to retrieve it a few minutes later when it started issuing some sort of distress signal.

Before the Q&a began, a taped message from “The Sugarland Express” star Goldie Hawn appeared on the screen, thanking Spielberg and reminiscing about the pivotal moment in her career—and his. The film was released in 1974, just one year before “Jaws,...

Most of the action in Steven Spielberg’s 1974 directorial debut, Sugarland Express, unfolds over the course of an extended car chase as Goldie Hawn and William Atherton’s characters try to evade a long convoy of police vehicles in an effort to regain custody of their young son from foster care.

While the film predated high-speed freeway car chases, modern audiences might be reminded of such events, including O.J. Simpson’s infamous white Bronco chase, which unfolded roughly 30 years ago, on June 17, 1994.

And sure enough, Spielberg himself admitted he thought of his own film when he saw the Bronco chase, which riveted audiences as it took over TV.

Speaking after a 50th-anniversary screening of Sugarland at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, Spielberg jokingly said he thought, “Shit, they’re stealing my thunder,” when he saw the Simpson chase.

Elsewhere during the post-screening Q&a, Spielberg reflected on making the film, including casting lead...

In one of this year’s climaxes at the Tribeca Festival, Steven Spielberg showed off his first major studio theatrical release, Sugarland Express, which celebrates 50 years.

“You’re the first audience to ever see Sugarland Express in 50 years,” joked the 3x Oscar-winning filmmaker at the packed Bmcc screening in the lower west side of Manhattan.

How’s that? Spielberg said Universal pulled the movie out of theaters after two weeks as no one went to see it despite good reviews. The movie repped his first big screen release after cutting his teeth as a TV director, and it preceded his work on 1975’s Jaws, the blockbuster that would give definition to the word tentpole.

Sugarland Express failed at the box office per Spielberg, as audiences wanted to see a lighthearted Goldie Hawn in the movie, not to mention, it had a tragic ending.

Here are some of the memories Spielberg...

If you’ve been trying to place the very specific voice that O-t Fagbenle is using as Da Nico Della Guardia on Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent, be forewarned that we are about to make you hear nothing else but a certain fussy Epa inspector.

When TVLine spoke with Fagbenle ahead of Presumed Innocent‘s June 12 premiere (with its first two episodes of eight), we simply had to ask what inspired the accent and affectations he chose for Nico, one of murder suspect Rusty Sabich’s two main adversaries.

More from TVLineRashida Jones Is Friends With a Robot in Apple...

Here’s How & Where To Watch Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire(Photo Credit –IMDb)

Paul Rudd, Mckenna Grace, and Finn Wolfhard, who are starring in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, have arrived on digital platforms, and you can catch it with your family in the comfort of your house. The supernatural comedy directed by Gil Kenan unites the new Ghostbusters with the Og ones in this fourth installment in the franchise. Keep scrolling for more.

In this part, the Spengler family returns to the iconic New York City firehouse, where the original Ghostbusters have taken ghost-busting to the next level. When the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters, new and old, must unite to protect their home and save the world from a second ice age.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s cast includes Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and Mckenna Grace reprising their roles. It is the sequel to the 2021 movie Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

The Ghostbusters: Afterlife (watch it Here) sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (which, of course, also serves as a sequel to the original Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II) reached theatres back at the end of March – you can read our review of the film Here and see our ranking of the franchise entries at This Link. So far, the film has racked up almost $190 million at the global box office… and now it’s time for its digital release so people can watch it in the comfort of their own homes. According to Film Stories, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will be giving Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire a digital release next week, on May 7th.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife stars Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace are back for the sequel, reprising the roles of Trevor and Phoebe. They’re joined in the cast by Carrie Coon, playing Trevor and Phoebe’s mom Callie; Paul Rudd, back as...

[This story contains spoilers for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.]

You’ve got questions and Emily Alyn Lind has answers.

In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, when Mckenna Grace’s Phoebe Spengler was sidelined by the Ghostbusters’ longtime bureaucratic nemesis, Walter Peck (William Atherton), the young Ghostbusting hero went on an unexpected journey that quickly introduced her to Lind’s surprise character, Melody.

Melody was nowhere to be found in the marketing for the film, but as soon as she’s introduced opposite Phoebe during a park-based chess match, it becomes clear why director Gil Kenan and Sony played their cards close to their vest. Melody is not only a ghost in the form of a 16-year-old girl, but she also interacts with Phoebe on a very human and relatable level. In other words, she’s a far cry from the typical apparitions that the franchise has offered up, and she further expands on how Ghost Egon was utilized in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).

Naturally,...

Stars: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, William Atherton, James Acaster | Written by Gil Kenan, Jason Reitman | Directed by Gil Kenan

The Ghostbusters are back in New York for the second instalment of the sequel-slash-reboot series, following 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. This time round, it’s directed by Gil Kenan, who co-wrote both Afterlife and Frozen Empire with Jason Reitman. Effectively energised by the New York setting, the sequel has evidently learned from the disastrous mistakes of the previous film and emerges as an entertaining adventure in its own right, though it’s not entirely without problems.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire jumps right into the Ghostbusting action, with the new team – former science teacher Gary Groobersom (Paul Rudd), Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) and her two teenage children Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace...

A new episode of the Awfully Good Horror Movies video series has just been released, and in this one we’re taking a look at an entry in the Crow franchise that often gets overlooked: The Crow: Salvation from 2000 (get it Here). With a remake of The Crow heading to theatres on June 7th and The Crow: Salvation getting a limited edition Blu-ray release from Scream Factory, this seemed like the perfect time to dig into this one – and you can hear all about it in the video embedded above!

Directed by Bharat Nalluri from a screenplay written by Chip Johannessen, The Crow: Salvation has the following synopsis: Alex Corvis is falsely convicted of brutally stabbing his girlfriend Lauren to death. He maintains his innocence and insists that Lauren was killed by a man with distinctive scars on his body but the police cannot find any trace of him. After three years on death row,...

Sony’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire had no trouble winning a relatively quiet weekend at the box office: Stronger-than-expected Saturday turnout rescued the movie from opening behind the franchise’s last installment.

Sunday estimates show Frozen Empire launching with $45.2 million in North America thanks to multi-generational turnout and families. In 2021, the pandemic-challenged Ghostbusters: Afterlife debuted to $44 million. The new movie will need to have decent legs, considering it cost more to make — $100 million, versus $75 million for Afterlife. And there’s still concern that the film hasn’t broadened out to any notable degree in terms of new fans.

Overseas, the Sony tentpole started off with $16.4 million from 25 markets — it has a staggered rollout for competitive reasons — for a global start of $61.6 million. In like-for-like markets, Sony says it is pacing 15 percent ahead of Afterlife. The U.K. leads with $5.3 million, followed quickly by Mexico with $5.2 million.

On Saturday, rival studios showed...

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” kicked off with $16 million in North American ticket sales across Friday and preview screenings in 4,345 theaters. That nearly matches the $16.6 million that its predecessor “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” earned on its opening day in November 2021. Sony’s sci-fi comedy sequel will easily top domestic charts, though its work isn’t done yet considering its $100 million production budget.

That’s an uptick in the price tag from “Afterlife,” which cost $75 million before marketing and distribution. That franchise revival nearly tripled its $44 million domestic opening weekend, playing well through the Thanksgiving holiday to finish with $129 million and $204 million worldwide. Similarly, “Frozen Empire” could boost its fortunes with Easter at the end of the month.

Reviews have been leaning more lukewarm compared to the so-so received “Afterlife.” Early moviegoers are also a little cooler on the franchise now, with audience survey firm Cinema Score turning in a B+ grade. (“Afterlife” scored an A-.

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is in theaters now and it’s a lot of frosty fun.

The film, a direct follow-up to “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and the fourth film in the mainline “Ghostbusters” continuity (which began back with 1984’s “Ghostbusters”), follows the Spangler family as they move into the iconic New York City firehouse that originally handled the Ghostbusters. There, they uncover an ancient evil that threatens to destroy Manhattan – and the entire world.

But are the Ghostbusters successful in thwarting this newest foe? Or will some of them sacrifice themselves for the good of mankind?

Before we break down the ending of “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” with some commentary from director and co-writer Gil Kenan, we must issue a sternly worded spoiler warning.

Where are the Ghostbusters at the end of “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire?”

Good question actually!

The original Ghostbusters, as well as the new Ghostbusters, have effectively been grounded. Walter Peck...

When Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan first conceived what would become 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, their top order of business was to reframe the franchise around a 12-year-old girl with a proton pack. Well, since then, Mckenna Grace has proven time and time again that her co-writers/directors made the absolutely right choice, as her fan-favorite character of Phoebe Spengler is currently the definitive hero of the Ghosbusters franchise.

In the Kenan-directed Afterlife sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, it’s been two years since Phoebe led the Ghostbusters to victory over Gozer at Egon Spengler’s Oklahoma farm, and she and the rest of the Spengler-Grooberson family are now full-fledged Ghostbusters, operating out of the famous New York City firehouse from Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989).

But early on in Frozen Empire, the Ghostbusters’ pursuit of a ghost causes some of their signature damage to the city, and an old foe, William Atherton’s Walter Peck,...

The Ghostbusters: Afterlife (watch it Here) sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (which, of course, also serves as a sequel to the original Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II) is now in theatres – and in the review of the film that was written by JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray (you can read it at This Link), Bumbray said that it feels like it was “aimed at building the franchise out more extensively.” While talking to The Hollywood Reporter, franchise co-creator Dan Aykroyd hinted that we could see the franchise expand with globe-trotting adventures.

Aykroyd said, “We like New York, but that’s not to say that we couldn’t make New York the base and travel off somewhere else. But… hey, there are ghosts around the world.“

While the first two films and Frozen Empire are set in New York, Afterlife took place in Oklahoma. It sounds like Aykroyd wouldn’t mind seeing the...

Let the ghost hunting begin.

Sony’s spring event pic Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has started off its North American box office run with $4.7 million in Thursday previews before rolling out everywhere on Friday.

That compares to $4.5 million in previews for the last film, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which succeeded in restoring the luster to the classic franchise created by the late Ivan Reitman. His son, Jason Reitman, directed Afterlife, but this time turned over helming duties to series co-scribe Gil Kenan.

Sony expects Frozen Empire to top the weekend’s box office chart with an opening in the $43 million to $44 million range, while tracking services are suggesting $45 million or more. (Afterlife, which debuted amid the challenges posed by the pandemic era, debuted to $44 million domestically). Critics didn’t exactly embrace either film, with Frozen Empire presently sporting a not-so-fresh score of 44 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Positive audience reaction, however, may boost the movie’s box office potential.

Ghostbusting is back at the box office!

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” the fifth and latest movie in the frightening franchise, has made $4.7 million at the box office in Thursday previews.

Sony and Columbia Pictures’ new movie, which reunites the original stars of the ’80s classic and the cast from the 2021 “Afterlife” sequel, is expected to top the box office this weekend with an opening between $43 million and $45 million. That launch is in line with the previous film that revived the franchise, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” which had a $45 million opening amid the pandemic. “Frozen Empire” will need to outperform its predecessor to turn a profit due to its $100 million price tag (“Afterlife” only cost $75 million).

“Frozen Empire’s” Thursday box office haul is slightly up from “Afterlife,” which made $4.5 million in previews back in 2021. At the end of its run, “Afterlife” made $129.3 million in North America and $204 million worldwide.

Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon,...

This article major spoilers for "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire."

As has become "Ghostbusters" legend, the original script draft for the film that eventually became the 1984 classic was a massive tome written solely by creator and star Dan Aykroyd, before collaborators like eventual co-star and co-writer Harold Ramis and director Ivan Reitman came aboard. That draft, entitled "Ghost Smashers," was a phone-book sized script that had a wildly divergent tone and narrative from what ended up as "Ghostbusters." Really, the largest element to remain intact from that initial draft to the finished film was the notion of ghostbusting being a profession, with the rest of the particulars being changed and found along the way.

However, that didn't stop the filmmakers using Aykroyd's original script for inspiration, then and now. Back then, some other elements seen in the first script, like the Onionhead ghost (which became Slimer) and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, made...

Sneak Peek more footage from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire", the new supernatural comedy feature, directed by Gil Kenan as a sequel to "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" (2021), starring Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Logan Kim, Celeste O'Connor, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, James Acaster and Emily Alyn Lind, releasing March 22, 2024 in theaters:

"...the 'Spengler' family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse…

‘…to team up with the original 'Ghostbusters', who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force…

“… Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second 'Ice Age'..."

Click the images to enlarge...

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire Fright Features 5-Inch Action Figures Wave 1 Case of 8

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Janine (Annie Potts), Peter (Bill Murray), Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston (Ernie Hudson) in Columbia Pictures Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Suit up! Even though spring has finally sprung it doesn’t mean that all the spooks and specters are hiding out or in hibernation until the Fall and their holiday Halloween. And you know who you’re “gonna’ call”. Yes, it’s the return of a much-beloved film franchise, opting for an “earlier than Summer” release. Well, they are celebrating a rather big anniversary. Mind you, it’s just a few months short of three years since the last installment/revival/spin-off. No, I’m talking about the original, still-revered comedy/horror hybrid classic which will soon be forty years “young”. So, let’s fire up Ecto-1 and see what the new teams and the OGs are up to in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

After a wild prologue involving a certain NYC...

Major spoilers follow.

Ever since a quartet of blue-collar fringe science-exploring schlubs first formed an organization known as the Ghostbusters back in 1984, the Ray Parker Jr.-led refrain of "Who ya gonna call?" has been both a promise and a cross to bear. While the original 'Busters (and their female counterparts from 2016) have continually struggled to convince themselves and others that non-corporeal entities are very real and need to be handled, they've also been burdened with the fact that ghostbusting is a full-time job with few tangible benefits. In essence, everyone from Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Raymond Stanz (Dan Aykroyd), Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) to Phoebe Spengler (Mckenna Grace), her mother Callie (Carrie Coon), and others have been so continually preoccupied with the afterlife that they've barely carved out a present life for themselves.

That's the dilemma facing all of the people who call themselves Ghostbusters in the latest installment of the franchise,...

Forty years ago, four men put on uniforms, came up with a catchy logo — a startled specter in a red circle with a slash going through it, no big whoop — strapped on some proton packs and saved New York City from an evil deity holed up in a penthouse. They were brave, they were bold, they were smartasses and, we can’t stress this part enough, they weren’t ‘fraid of no ghosts. It’s not a Stay Puft Marshmellow Man-sized leap to say that Ivan Reitman’s original Ghostbusters changed Hollywood blockbusters.

Why do these new Ghostbusters movies land so unremarkably? Not Paul Feig’s 2016 reboot, which was attacked by pissant trolls. My opening statement is reserved for Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Gil Kenan’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Kenan tackles the third sequel in recognized Ghostbusters continuity, which hardly gives audiences a reason to stay excited about any more franchise continuations. Plotting feels superficially engineered to sell the nostalgia thrills of seeing the original Ghostbusters suit up or so we can relive old scenes anew; a film built around team poses and one-liners that misremember how Ivan Reitman’s predecessors made bustin’ feel so good.

After the events of Afterlife, the Spenglers and Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) move into the iconic New York City firehouse where it all started. Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) sees her romance with Gary flourish, while her kids Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) make spectral entrapment a family business.

The Ghostbusters are back in action.

Sony’s spring event pic Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is opening everywhere Friday in North America following select Thursday previews. It also begins its international rollout this week. The studio is betting on an opening in the $43 million to $44 million range, while tracking services are suggesting $45 million or more.

The movie is a direct sequel to director Jason Reitman’s 2021 feature Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which succeeded in restoring the luster to the franchise created by his father, the late Ivan Reitman.

Set two years later after the events in last film, Frozen Empire includes returning castmembers Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor and Logan Kim, alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton, who starred in the original 1980s films. Series newcomers include Kumail Nanjiani and Patton Oswalt. The new Ghostbusters only has one week to itself in...

Bill Murray and Paul Rudd in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Photo: Jaap Buitendijk/Sony Pictures Entertainment Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opens with what’s meant to be a thrilling car-chase ride through lower Manhattan, where we get to see the new Ghostbusters—that’d be the Spengler family (plus Gary!)—in action.

Bill Murray and Paul Rudd in Ghostbusters: Frozen EmpirePhoto: Jaap Buitendijk/Sony Pictures Entertainment

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opens with what’s meant to be a thrilling car-chase ride through lower Manhattan, where we get to see the new Ghostbusters—that’d be the Spengler family (plus Gary!)—in action. Mom,...

The caretakers of the Ghostbusters series are no strangers to being yelled at about all the things that fans don’t want to see in the movies. No, we can’t let women be Ghostbusters. No, this is no place to be earnestly sentimental about dead fathers and original cast members. No, don’t soften things down for younger generations that love the series.

With that in mind, it’s no wonder that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire feels so wracked with anxiety, seemingly afraid to do anything too extreme with the toys at its disposal. That’s especially unfortunate given that all the right elements are in play. Freed from Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s legacy-sequel trappings, Frozen Empire initially gets down to the welcome business of positing what a fully functioning ghostbusting business in 2024 might look like.

Gil Kenan’s film finds the Spengler clan—Callie (Carrie Coon), Phoebe (McKenna Grace), and...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7INlx0USgXc

“Bustin makes me feel good!” That’s what Sony hopes fans will be saying when they turn out to see Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire this weekend in theaters. A very ambitious follow-up to Ghostbusters: Afterlife, with this one, Sony and their Ghost Corps production company, hope to spawn the series into an extended universe containing both old and new characters. You can read our review here, and to help celebrate the movie’s release, we were invited to take part in the film’s virtual junket, in which we got to interview stars McKenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon.

One thing that’s immediately evident when interviewing this crew is their unabashed love of the franchise. Everyone involved is clearly having a blast, and perhaps none more so than Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd, who, after sitting out most of...

Plot: After having relocated to NYC to fight ghosts, the Spengler find themselves tangling with an old nemesis of the Ghostbusters, Mayor Walter Peck (William Atherton), who wants to shut them down for good. Meanwhile, an ancient evil will be unleashed over the city, releasing all the spirits caught over the last forty years.

Review: I was a big fan of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Jason Reitman’s film skillfully blended nostalgia with a new take on the franchise that opened up the Ghostbusters universe in an inclusive way. It welcomed new fans without alienating old ones, something the 2016 reboot notoriously failed at. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire seems to be aimed at building the franchise out more extensively. While it’s still a fun, nostalgia-driven return to the Ghostbusting universe, it’s not as good as the last film and spreads itself too thin to do the new characters justice.

One thing fans...

It’s been almost forty years since Ghostbusters introduced the plucky foursome fumbling their way through spectral encounters, using a now iconic Manhattan firehouse as their operations base. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, set two years after the events of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, further entrenches the Spengler family and newcomers into the franchise by returning to where it all began: New York City. Frozen Empire offers familiar set pieces, references, and easter eggs aplenty, but the nostalgia tank is now running on empty.

Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), mom Callie (Carrie Coon), and stepdad Gary (Paul Rudd) have adjusted well to life as Ghostbusters in the rundown yet classic firehouse. So well, in fact, that their latest paranormal capture caused enough city damage to put them in the crosshairs of Walter “Dickless” Peck (William Atherton). That’s not the only source of trouble for the new team; the firehouse’s containment unit is at capacity and struggling.

With "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," director Jason Reitman sparked a new direction for the sci-fi comedy franchise pioneered by his father, filmmaker Ivan Reitman. Much like the younger Reitman taking the reins of his father's cinematic history, the film grappled with the legacy of the movies that came before by delivering an Amblin-esque family adventure soaked in the nostalgia of the original "Ghostbusters." The result landed somewhere in the middle of being wonderfully entertaining and borderline self-indulgent, and that's coming from someone who has nothing but respect for the groundbreaking 1984 hit that came before it. 

Two years later, the spook-nabbing franchise is continuing with "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire," this time directed by "Monster House" filmmaker Gil Kenan. Leaving behind the dusty, rural Oklahoma setting of "Afterlife," the sequel brings the action back to New York City, where the unconventional Spengler family have been handed the baton, or rather neutron wand, of the original Ghostbusters.

Phoebe Spengler knows who she is and what she wants and she doesn’t care what any of the dumb grown-ups think. Despite banishment from all Ghostbusting activities by her mother Callie, and also by the mayor of New York City, Phoebe decides to deal with a spirit sighting in a diner. She grabs her proton pack and marches her 15-year-old self to the scene of the haunting, brimming with teenage angst.

To anyone old enough to have watched the first Ghostbusters when it became a phenomenon in 1984, Phoebe might seem like an entitled brat, a spoiled Gen Z kid who approaches the supernatural not with wonder or wry humor, but with a temper tantrum. But for those who watch Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire not as an exercise in nostalgia, but as a proper film with its own character arcs and story beats, then Phoebe’s act of defiance offers the...

Quite alarmingly, the fifth entry in the Ghostbusters series — following straight on from the unexpectedly charming Afterlife — starts by quoting all 51 words of Robert Frost’s 1923 poem Fire and Ice, which posits two very different apocalyptic scenarios for the end of the world. Has the franchise suddenly fallen prey to the glum Christopher Nolanization of what we used to think of as bubblegum entertainment? Is Paul Feig’s controversial 2016 all-female iteration about to be frozen out of the canon? Will it be worthy and … boring?

Well, if you liked Afterlife, and not everybody did, the answer is no. It is confusing at times, and not everything works, but Frozen Empire does a very good job of keeping the flame alive, 40 years after the fact. As opposed to The Dial of Destiny, which leaned way too hard into the modern-day appeal of an action hero who’s now 80, the new-era Ghostbusters...

The Ghostbusters universe seems to be getting awfully crowded. The latest film in the franchise, celebrating its 40th anniversary (gulp), features a plethora of ghostbusters old and new, including the surviving members of the original cast, the characters introduced in 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and a variety of eccentric new figures who are bound to figure in future installments. The only ones left out, it would seem, are the female ghostbusters from 2016’s unfairly maligned reboot, who should at least have merited a respectful cameo.

Nonetheless, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire tries hard, very hard, to satisfy the series’ fans with plenty of nostalgic throwbacks and mainly succeeds. It’s not nearly as good as the classic 1984 original, but then again, neither was 1989’s Ghostbusters II, and that one was directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, all of whom were responsible for the original. So the fact...

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is getting ready for its big worldwide premiere on March 22, 2024, which is just a couple of days away. The film was shown during a special screening on March 14, 2024, in New York City, but that was a special event before a wider theatrical release. Now, ahead of that release, Sony Pictures has released yet another special clip from the movie, which highlights the humorous side of the story.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a sequel to 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, a reboot/sequel that continued the legacy of the original films, featuring the return of the original cast, but focusing on a new generation of younger Ghostbusters who are ready to tackle the deadly ghosts. Before we reveal more, here is the special clip we have promised you:

Mini-Puft mayhem is in full effect.

Catch @Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, playing exclusively in movie theaters Thursday. Get tickets: https://t.co/oyCDrpH7kC pic.

Sneak Peek more footage from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire", the new supernatural comedy feature, directed by Gil Kenan as a sequel to "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" (2021), starring Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Logan Kim, Celeste O'Connor, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, James Acaster and Emily Alyn Lind, releasing March 22, 2024 in theaters:

"...the 'Spengler' family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse…

‘…to team up with the original 'Ghostbusters', who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force…

“… Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second 'Ice Age'..."

Click the images to enlarge...

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire Fright Features 5-Inch Action Figures Wave 1 Case of 8

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Ernie Hudson Photo: Santiago Felipe It’s hard to imagine Ghostbusters without the prowess of Ernie Hudson, the talented actor who has played Winston Zeddemore since 1984. It’s a role he’s reprised in three additional films, including Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which releases in theaters this week. Still, he tells...

Ernie HudsonPhoto: Santiago Felipe (Getty Images)

It’s hard to imagine Ghostbusters without the prowess of Ernie Hudson, the talented actor who has played Winston Zeddemore since 1984. It’s a role he’s reprised in three additional films, including Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which releases in theaters this week. Still, he...