There is no doubt that Ghostbusters has had a massive effect on the entertainment industry and on millions of fans around the world. In what different ways has this classic movie had an impact on us?
A Look at the Success of the Original
Released back in 1984, the original Ghostbusters is a supernatural comedy starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis as a group of parapsychologists who decide to set up a ghost-hunting business in New York. The wacky idea helped to inspire a range of sci-fi movies based on ghosts, aliens, and other out-of-this-world experiences. In particular, the mixture of comedy, drama, and action proved to be hugely influential.
Ghostbusters turned out to be a massive success with the public, earning over $282 million in its first run in theaters, against a budget go $30 million. Only Beverley Hills Cop earned more in cinemas in 1984, and Ghostbuster would go on to become the highest-grossing comedy film in history at one point. Despite it being released almost 40 years ago, Ghostbuster remains a favorite of many movie fans, with a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 88% audience rating from more than 250,000 ratings.
Even the catchy theme song was a massive hit. Ray Parker Jr. later confessed that he wrote it in just two and a half days but struggled with the lyrics after he was asked to change it from a short musical clip to a full song. The infectious song with the “who you gonna call?” hook helped to increase the popularity of the movie, and it hit number one in dozens of different countries.
The Movie Sequels
Given the huge success of the 1984 original, it was no surprise to see a sequel released a few years later. Ghostbusters II in 1989 featured many of the same actors and was a commercial success, although the critical reception wasn’t as positive as with the original. Attempts to make a third movie to follow the same team of Ghostbusters started that same year but floundered due to various logistical reasons.
In 2016, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call introduced us to an all-female group of ghost-hunters. Like the previous films in the franchise, it made a profit at the box office, although it wasn’t as well-received as the previous efforts. This third movie was originally intended to continue on from the original two, but instead it was presented as a reboot that takes place in an alternative universe. The majority of fans appear to have been unconvinced, and the movie now stands alone, seemingly with little chance of a direct follow-up.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Preview
The supernatural franchise is in the news again just now as the next movie is due out at the end of 2021. Ghostbusters: Afterlife was meant to be released in 2020 but is now scheduled for release on November 19, 2021. The director is Jason Reitman, whose father Ivan directed the original movie. It is a straight sequel to the first couple of films in the franchise, skipping the 2016 movie to bring us a new generation of characters who need to look into the past to solve the mysteries occurring in and around the creepy farmhouse they have moved to.
Afterlife had a surprise screening at the 2021 CinemaCon meeting in Los Angeles, followed by a showing at New York Comic Con shortly afterwards. Fans have generally been positive about this new movie, but some reviews have slated it for featuring too many knowing jokes based on the original and for not being faithful enough to the irreverent comedy that made the franchise famous.
It looks likely that it will continue to divide opinions once it is finally released to movie theaters, with different movie-goers perhaps having varying expectations of this new film. We will need to wait to see how popular Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be. If the previous films are anything of a guide, we can expect it to do well at the box office. However, only time will tell if this will be regarded as a great movie and a worthy successor to the 1984 original.
Other Types of Entertainment
Ghostbuster has proved to be a tremendous source of inspiration for video game producers too. In fact, Ghostbusters: The Video Game was largely based on Aykroyd’s script for a potential third movie, which was to be sub-titled Hellbent. Created by Terminal Reality and Red Fly Studios for a variety of gaming formats, this was a faithful rendition of the franchise’s appeal and sold more than three million copies.
This was also arguably the best video game based on the movie, although there have been plenty of other efforts. From 1984’s Ghostbusters by Activision for the Commodore 64 and other formats through to the Real Ghostbusters title for the Gameboy, and Lego-based games, there have been many attempts at bringing this universe to life for gamers. Many of them now look rather dated, it has to be said.
We can also see the ghost-hunting team feature in online casino games such as Ghostbusters Level Up Plus, Ghostbuster Spectral Search, and Ghostbusters Triple Slime, which you can play on some of the best online casinos USA sites, such as Golden Nugget and Caesars.
What Does the Future Hold for the Ghostbusters Franchise?
The Afterlife movie should see a resurgence of interest in this franchise, if it is successful. However, it is worth remembering that the original is still much-loved even after a couple of relatively lackluster sequels failed to capture the public’s imagination.
Even if the new movie doesn’t have a lot of success, it seems unlikely that the legacy of the 1984 original will be tarnished or that it will lose its appeal anytime soon. Indeed, we can probably expect to see more games and other spin-offs released in the future regardless of the new movie’s reception.
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