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The franchise started with the 1984 movie Ghostbusters. Audiences were enthralled by the story of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), four men who start a ghost-hunting business. Ghostbusters’ solid performances, witty dialogue, clever script, and catchy theme song resulted in the movie becoming a cultural phenomenon and far exceeding box office and critical expectations.
Columbia Pictures was eager for a sequel, but trouble was brewing from the start. The sequel had a notoriously difficult time getting all the original actors to sign on. Meanwhile, production was rushed, and large portions of the movie were scrapped. Hence, Ghostbusters II was hardly comparable to the original's success, largely diminishing hopes for the third installment.
When original Ghostbusters star Ramis ed away in 2014, hope for a direct sequel was so low that Sony rebooted the franchise with Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. The film was such a box office flop that the idea of a reboot sequel was quickly shut down.
Finally, Jason Reitman, the son of Ghostbusters’ original director, Ivan Reitman, saved the franchise. He did the impossible and convinced the three surviving original Ghostbusters actors to reprise their roles. He also tapped Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace for the next generation of ghost-hunters. The result was the 2021 movie Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was greenlit, with all the original and new cast from Ghostbusters: Afterlife returning.
Where to watch all the Ghostbusters movies and TV shows online
The best way to watch the Ghostbusters movies is by release date order since the movies were released chronologically. Additionally, there are three animated spinoff series that aren’t necessary to understand the movies but are fun to watch for the whole franchise experience. Here’s the franchise in order by release date from newest to oldest and where to stream them in the United States!
