Ghostbusters: Afterlife | |
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Written by |
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Based on | Ghostbusters by Dan Aykroyd Harold Ramis |
Produced by | Ivan Reitman |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Eric Steelberg |
Edited by |
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Music by | Rob Simonsen |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release dates |
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Running time | 124 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $75 million[2][3] |
Box office | $194.1 million[4][5] |
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a 2021 American supernatural comedy film that was directed by Jason Reitman, and written by Reitman and Gil Kenan. The film, which stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Bokeem Woodbine, Paul Rudd, Logan Kim, and Celeste O'Connor, is the sequel to Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), and the fourth film in the Ghostbusters franchise. Thirty-two years after the events of Ghostbusters II, the Ghostbusters have disbanded and their legacy is mostly forgotten. After a single mother and her children move to an Oklahoma farm they inherited from her estranged father, whom they discover was once a Ghostbuster who went on a mission to prevent an apocalypse. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver appear in supporting roles, reprising their characters from the earlier films.
A third Ghostbusters film had been in development since the release of Ghostbusters II but production stalled because Murray refused to return to the series. After cast member Harold Ramis died in 2014, Sony produced a female-driven reboot that was directed by Paul Feig and released in 2016. After Feig's film drew controversy and underperformed commercially,[6] Jason Reitman developed a sequel to the original films. The new cast was announced by July 2019 while the original cast signed on two months later. The film is posthumously dedicated to Ramis, who is commemorated in the closing credits. Filming took place from July to October 2019.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was screened unannounced on August 23, 2021, during the 2021 CinemaCon event in Las Vegas. It was released in the United States on November 19, 2021, after being delayed four times from an original July 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances, Reitman's direction, the tribute to Ramis, and the nostalgic tone but criticized the screenplay and fan service. It has grossed over $194 million worldwide with a production budget of $75 million.
In 1994, following the Ghostbusters' defeat of Vigo the Carpathian,[a] Egon Spengler discovered a prophecy predicting Gozer the Gozerian will return in 2021 and resume destroying the world.[b] After his friendships with teammates Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman, and Winston Zeddemore become strained, Egon takes most of their equipment and relocates to a farm in Summerville, Oklahoma, near which is a mining company owned by Gozer's devotee Ivo Shandor. Lacking equipment and with supernatural activity declining in New York City, the Ghostbusters eventually disband.
In 2021, Egon uses a ghost trap to capture an entity in Shandor's mine and lures a separate creature to his farm. Egon activates an elaborate setup in his ground but the power fails and he conceals the ghost trap in his home before being attacked by the creature and suffering a fatal heart attack. His estranged, financially struggling daughter Callie inherits the farm, and moves there with her children Trevor and Phoebe after being evicted from their Chicago apartment. Trevor becomes infatuated with carhop Lucky Domingo, and the scientific-minded Phoebe enrolls in a summer science class under the tutelage of seismologist Gary Grooberson.
Phoebe discovers the farmhouse is haunted and the ghost residing in it leads her to the ghost trap, which she shows to Gary and her new friend Podcast. Gary, a fan of the Ghostbusters, helps Phoebe learn more about them and her grandfather. He, Phoebe, and Podcast tamper with the trap, releasing one of Gozer's houndly sentinels that escapes to the mine. The farm ghost leads Phoebe to Egon's underground laboratory and, realizing the ghost is her grandfather, she restores the Ghostbusters' equipment under his guidance. While testing the proton pack with Podcast, they fight a ghost that haunts Shandor's foundry and flees to the town. Having repaired the Ghostbusters' Cadillac Ecto-1's engine, Trevor uses it to chase the ghost with Phoebe and Podcast; they capture the ghost but are arrested for the damage incurred and their equipment is seized. Recalling the Ghostbusters' telephone number, Phoebe contacts Ray for help and tells him Egon has died. Egon's ghost leads Callie to a wall of detailed notes and pictures he kept of his daughter's life, showing he cared more about her than she thought.
Phoebe, Podcast, Lucky, and Trevor find a Gozerian temple within the mine. Exploring further, they discover Shandor is alive in his casket, and automated proton cannons installed by Egon that hinder Gozer's attempts to cross over. Sentinels Zuul and Vinz Clortho possess Callie and Gary, respectively, and destroy Egon's equipment, allowing Gozer to escape. Shandor awakes and pledges his fealty to Gozer but she kills him.
The children discover Egon's setup is a trap field, an array of traps buried around the property. With the town distracted by supernatural chaos, the children recover the seized equipment and travel to the mine. Phoebe distracts Gozer so Podcast can capture Zuul, freeing Callie and weakening Gozer's physical form. They lure Gozer to the trap field but it malfunctions and Gozer frees Zuul, who possesses Lucky and fully restores Gozer's power. Ray, Peter, and Winston arrive to help, and Gozer, after having already killed Egon, seeks to complete her revenge against the Ghostbusters. Supported by Egon's now-visible ghost, Phoebe fights Gozer with her proton pack. The Ghostbusters help Phoebe restrain Gozer by crossing their proton streams while Trevor uses his to charge the trap's power source. Callie activates the ghost traps, capturing Gozer and her minions. Egon reconciles with his family and friends before fading away.
In post-credit scenes, Peter is revealed to be married to Dana Barrett. Winston, having become a wealthy businessman since leaving the Ghostbusters, returns the Ecto-1 to the Ghostbusters' firehouse. In the basement, a light on the ecto-containment unit flashes red.
The film's cast also includes Bokeem Woodbine as sheriff Sherman Domingo, Lucky's father; Marlon Kazadi as Thickneck;[10] Sydney Mae Diaz as Swayze; and Aykroyd's youngest daughter Stella as Deputy Medjuck, a nod to Joe Medjuck, who was an associate producer on Ghostbusters (1984), an executive producer on the subsequent movies, and a co-founder of production company Ghost Corps. Harold Ramis posthumously appears as Egon Spengler in archival clips and photographs taken from Ghostbusters (1984).[17] Bob Gunton (credited as "The Ghost Farmer") and Ivan Reitman also portray living and ghostly versions of Egon using digital makeup.[18][19][20] J. K. Simmons plays Ivo Shandor, the leader of a Gozer-worshiping cult responsible for the Sumerian god Gozer's resurrection in Ghostbusters. Simmons took the role as a token of friendship with the Reitmans, with whom he frequently collaborate in films like Juno and Father Figures. Olivia Wilde[18] physically portrays Gozer, Shohreh Aghdashloo provides Gozer's voice, and Emma Portner plays Gozer's CGI spirit form. Josh Gad voices Muncher, a metal-eating ghost conjured after a seance went wrong at Summerville Foundry in the 1940s.[21][22]
In the early 1990s, following the release of Ghostbusters II, the writer of the first two Ghostbusters films Dan Aykroyd wrote a script for a third film that was tentatively titled Ghostbusters III: Hellbent.[23] In the script, the Ghostbusters are transported to an parallel-universe version of Manhattan called Manhellton, where the people and places are "hellish" versions of Earth, and the characters meet and confront the Devil.[24][25] At the time, Aykroyd stated the studio was interested, though the principal actors, especially Bill Murray, were not. The script's main characters are a new, younger group of Ghostbusters; Ray, Egon, and Winston struggle to keep the business going after Peter's relationship with Dana becoming serious.[25] Elements of this story were used in Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009), which Aykroyd considered to be "essentially the third movie".[26] At various stages of its development, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, and Ben Stiller were reported as potential stars of a new Ghostbusters film.[27]
By 2004, the studio had begun pursuing a sequel but Murray, who disliked sequels, was uninterested in the project.[28] The following year, Harold Ramis confirmed plans to introduce Stiller into the principal cast.[24][29] By 2009, the project had failed to progress[23] and by January 2010, Ivan Reitman, director of the first two Ghostbusters films, confirmed he would direct a third one.[30][31] In March, Murray discussed development of the film and his mixed feelings about reprising his role.[32][33] A release was scheduled for Christmas 2012.[34] In the October issue of Vanity Fair, Aykroyd commented on the screenplay written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, stating he was particularly impressed with the writing of Murray's character and the implementation of the new team with the original while he and Ramis worked on a second draft of the script.[35]
By August 2011, Aykroyd stated filming was scheduled to begin later that year with a story focusing on passing the Ghostbusters mantle to the younger actors.[36][37] When Murray decided against reprising his role, Aykroyd said another actor might replace him.[38] Aykroyd also said he wanted retired actor Rick Moranis to return as Louis Tully.[39] By February 2012, the film was placed on hold as the production team re-evaluated the project. Without Murray, the studio searched for replacement actors and considered including his character as a CGI-rendered ghost.[40] In June, Murray again acknowledged all involved were attempting to develop the third film before dropping out of the film the following month.[41][42][43] In July, Aykroyd confirmed the film was back in development with a script re-write from Etan Cohen.[44] Aykroyd said of the script; "It's got to be perfect. That's the whole thing. There's no point in doing it unless it's perfect. So that's what we're up to now."[44] By September 2012, Reitman announced the developments of a remake.[45] In May 2013, Aykroyd discussed plot points including real experiments being done by college students at Columbia University as a source of inspiration. The plot would revolve around research being done by the university, which would bring about threats from other dimensions. A new team of Ghostbusters would form to save Earth's plane of existence from supernatural threats.[46] The script reportedly included Murray's character with hopes Murray would decide to join the production.[47]
Following Ramis's death on February 24, 2014,[48] Sony Pictures stated that Ramis would cameo in the film. The film was delayed again to rework the script.[49] By March 2015, it was confirmed that Reitman would not direct the third film, but would remain as producer, with plans to begin principal photography by early 2015.[50] Weaver revealed that her character's son would feature as a member of the team.[51]
A new film connected to the original two films was revealed in January 2019. Ivan Reitman's son Jason was announced to direct from a script he co-wrote with Gil Kenan while Ivan would serve as a producer.[52] The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit revealed the film would feature teenagers—two males and two females—as the new recruits for the Ghostbusters team.[53]
Jason Reitman stated the film would ignore the events of 2016's Ghostbusters reboot, which was directed by Paul Feig. In February 2019, Reitman stated on a podcast this film will "hand the movie back to the fans".[citation needed] Reitman said he did not mean to snub the 2016 film and that he had "nothing but admiration" for Feig. Feig stated Reitman had been a supporter of his film and that he "can't wait to see his take on the Ghostbusters universe".[54] Reitman later said the idea of a teenage girl wanting to be a Ghostbuster had come to him, and with a positive reaction from Feig's film, proved the idea that anyone could be a Ghostbuster would work. Reitman also said the Ghostbusters franchise could readily expand on this idea with all types of people becoming Ghostbusters, personally thanking Feig for making this possible.[55] Reitman considered, unlike the three prior Ghostbusters films—all of which involve people going into the ghostbusting business—he wanted to make this film about family first. With Kenan, Reitman created a script based around the Spengler family and the reason they are so disconnected.[56] According to Dan Aykroyd: "Jason Reitman wrote a beautiful, heartfelt script that takes the real DNA from the first two movies and transfers that directly to the third, the next generation. It hands the legacy off to a new generation of stars, and players, and actors, and characters."[57] Murray, who was also confirmed to be reprising Peter Venkman, said: "The script is good. It's got lots of emotion in it. It's got lots of family in it, with through lines that are really interesting."[58]
With a script centered around family, Reitman felt it was appropriate to change the setting from New York City to the American West to give the film a new identity and a different color palette. The script was structured to slowly reveal the connection to the Egon Spengler character, which would bring in elements of earlier Ghostbusters films. For example, the film says Aykroyd's character returned to running Ray's Occult Books, as seen in Ghostbusters II, but only the events of the original film are directly referenced.[56]
The castings of Mckenna Grace as the young female protagonist,, Finn Wolfhard as her brother, and Carrie Coon as their single mother, as the sister and brother with their single mother, were announced in March 2019. [7][12] Reitman described Grace as an avid fan of the series and a perfect fit for his concept of a teenage-female Ghostbuster.[55] Wolfhard, who had dressed as a Ghostbuster during the second season of Stranger Things, was unsure he would get the role, saying; "Jason Reitman is probably not even going to look at my tape" because of that.[59] On June 27, 2019, Paul Rudd shared a video on the official Ghostbusters social media accounts, revealing he had been cast in the film, later confirming his role was that of Mr. Grooberson, the children's new teacher who knows of the Ghostbusters' legacy.[11][60][8]
Newcomers Celeste O'Connor and Logan Kim were announced as cast in July 2019.[61] Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts were confirmed to be reprising their roles from the first two Ghostbusters films.[62][14][57][58]
Reitman and the production crew reviewed the designs of the original film's ghosts and other supernatural creatures for use in Afterlife, observing most of those designs were unique. The creature known as "Muncher" is similar to Slimer; according to Reitman; "Something happened to Slimer over the years that people started thinking of him as the dalmatian of the firehouse. The original Slimer was an angry dude and very scary and we wanted to get back to that."[56]
Ramis's likeness was recreated with digital makeup created by Pier Lefebvre and his team at Moving Picture Company (MPC) Film in Los Angeles, based on his appearance in the original films.[18][63][64] Bob Gunton and Ivan Reitman physically performed the role. Special effects technicians and puppeteers, including Ronald Binion (suit puppeteer for Slimer in the 2016 Ghostbusters film), portrayed Egon's invisible ghost by puppeteering objects and lights in his house and storm-cellar laboratory.[65]
Under the working title "Rust City", principal photography began on July 12, 2019, in and around Calgary, Alberta, and lasted until October. Location filming occurred in surrounding communities such as Crossfield, Beiseker,[66] and Drumheller during July and August 2019.[67] Other locations around Alberta were also used.[67][68][69] On October 18, 2019, Reitman posted an image on his Instagram account confirming filming had wrapped after 68 days.[70]
The score for Ghostbusters: Afterlife was composed by Rob Simonsen, and conducted by William Ross and Anthony Parnther. Simonsen studied Elmer Bernstein's score for the first Ghostbusters film and recruited Bernstein's son Peter, who guided the orchestration of Simonsen's score and the use of material from Ghostbusters (1984), as a score consultant.[citation needed] Simonsen used the ondes martenot throughout the score, which was played by Cynthia Millar, who played the same instrument on Bernstein's 1984 Ghostbusters score. The soundtrack was released on Compact Disc on November 19, 2021.
The songs "Ghostbusters", which was performed by Ray Parker Jr.; and "Haunted House", which was written and performed by Mckenna Grace; are heard during the film's end credits.[71] The songs "The Clapping Song" by Shirley Ellis, "Baby It's You" by The Shirelles, "Can You Get to That" by Funkadelic, and "Boredom" by Buzzcocks are used in the film.[72]
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was scheduled to be released in the United States on July 10, 2020, by Sony Pictures Releasing[73] but its release was postponed to March 5, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[74] On October 21, 2020, Sony pushed the film to June 11, 2021,[75] then later in January 2021 shifted the release to November 11, 2021.[76][77] In September 2021, the film's release was again postponed to November 19, 2021.[78]
The film was given a surprise screening on August 23, 2021, during the 2021 CinemaCon event in Las Vegas;[79] and another for fans at the 2021 New York Comic Con.[80]
Following the film's theatrical screenings, it was released digitally on January 4, 2022 in North America. It is scheduled to be released in DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K on February 1, 2022.[81][82][83][84] The film was the top-rented film on VUDU.[85]
On August 22, 2019, toy manufacturer and multimedia company Hasbro announced that they have obtained the master toy license for the Ghostbusters franchise, with the new products (including action figures and role-play items) set to be released in stores in April.[86] Because of the pandemic delays to the movie's release date, the introduction of Ghostbusters: Afterlife toys to market has also been delayed. Target received exclusive versions of some toys ahead of the projected June 2021 release date, but further rollouts were held back when the studio announced an additional delay until November 2021.[87] A new line of Hasbro action figures based on the movie was unveiled on the same day the second trailer debuted. It included several characters and costumes that had not been seen in any promotional material for the movie before.[88][89] In November 2021, Zaxby's promoted the film with a commercial featuring Ghostbusters: Afterlife's Mini-Pufts.[90]
As of January 16, 2022[update], Ghostbusters: Afterlife has grossed $126.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $68 million in other territories, grossing over $194.1 million worldwide and becoming the ninth-highest-grossing American film of 2021.[4][5] Factoring in the film's production budget, distribution and marketing expenses, theaters’ share of revenues, and the costs of Covid-related delays, it is estimated the film would need to gross at least $275 million worldwide to break even.[91]
In the United States and Canada, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was released alongside King Richard.[3] After making $16.6 million on its first day—including $4.5 million from Thursday night previews, $1 million more than the 2016 film—projections were increased to $40 million. It debuted to revenues of $44 million, topping the box office.[92] The film made $5.3 million on Thanksgiving and $24.2 million in its second weekend, finishing second behind newcomer Encanto.[93][94]
In its third weekend, the film earned $10.35 million and exceeded $100 million in the U.S. and Canada.[95][96] In its fourth weekend, the film dropped to third place at the box office and earned $7.1 million.[97][98] It made $3.4 million in its fifth weekend, placing fourth,[99] and $1.2 million in its sixth, finishing eleventh.[100] The film returned to the box-office top ten in its seventh weekend, earning $1.5 million and finishing seventh.[101] In its eighth week, the film made $1.1 million and finished eighth.[102]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 62% of 284 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.10/10. The website's consensus reads: "Ghostbusters: Afterlife crosses the streams between franchise revival and exercise in nostalgia – and this time around, the bustin' mostly feels good."[103] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[104] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an 82% positive score, and 69% said they would definitely recommend it.[92]
Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter described the film's cast as "engaging" and "[having] the comic beats down", and added: "they also play more fully fleshed people than the first film offered, reflecting the director's interest in character-driven stories". She also noted some similarities between the film and Stranger Things, The Wizard of Oz, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.[105] Olly Richards of Empire gave the film a score of four out of five, describing it as "thoroughly lovely" and saying it "firmly establishes its own new generation" while being "full of love for the originals".[106] Peter Debruge of Variety described the film as an "unnecessary but enjoyable movie", and added: "The good news for Ghostbusters fans is that Afterlife does nothing to tarnish what has come before".[107]
According to William Bibbiani of TheWrap, Ghostbusters: Afterlife will probably satisfy fans of Ghostbusters (1984)—particularly those who like finding Easter eggs—but might disappoint viewers who want it to offer something different; but these could still enjoy the film's "slick and straightforward, formulaic craftsmanship".[108] Scott Mendelson of Forbes gave the film a score of 6 out of 10, describing it as a "charming and witty kid-centric coming-of-age fantasy", but criticized its reliance on "pandering" nostalgic fanservice.[109] Kyle Smith of National Review described the film as "a winsome, endearing summer movie for November, a cunningly engineered generational bridge".[110] Guardian critic Charles Bramesco gave it one out of five, finding it lacks the humor of Ghostbusters (1984) and instead resembles an "Amblin knockoff" that is similar to the television series Stranger Things. Bramensco concluded it is "a nostalgia object, drained of personality and fitted into a dully palatable mold, custom-made for a fandom that worships everything and respects nothing".[111]
Award | Date of Ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref |
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Alliance of Women Film Journalists | January 2022 | Sequel or Remake That Shouldn't Have Been Made | Ghostbusters: Afterlife | Nominated | [112] |
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | December 13, 2021 | Best Visual Effects | Nominated | [113] | |
Best Youth in Film - Female | Mckenna Grace | Nominated | |||
Music City Film Critics Association Awards | January 25, 2022 | Best Young Actress | Pending | [114] | |
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | January 10, 2022 | Best Youth Performance | Runner-up | [115] | |
Sunset Circle Awards | December 2, 2021 | Best Family Film | Ghostbusters: Afterlife | Nominated | [116] |
Aykroyd has expressed interest in having the surviving three actors of the original Ghostbusters team reprise their roles in up to three sequels.[117]
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