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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a 2024 American supernatural comedy film directed by Gil Kenan from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jason Reitman. It is the sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and the fifth film in the Ghostbusters franchise. The film stars Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O'Connor, and Logan Kim reprising their roles from Afterlife, alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton reprising their characters from the earlier films. Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, and James Acaster also join the cast. Set two years after the events of Afterlife, the veteran Ghostbusters must join forces with their new recruits to save the world in New York City from a death-chilling god who seeks to build a spectral army.[6]

Following the success of Afterlife, Sony Pictures announced the sequel in April 2022, with Reitman returning as director. Co-writer and executive producer Kenan later took over as director from Reitman that December, with the latter staying on as a co-writer and co-producer. That same month, Rudd, Coon, Grace, Wolfhard, O'Connor, Kim, Murray, Aykroyd, Hudson, Potts, and Atherton were all confirmed to reprise their roles. New cast members including Nanjiani, Oswalt, Lind, and Acaster were announced in March 2023, with principal photography commencing that month and wrapping in June. Dario Marianelli was hired to compose and conduct the film's score, replacing Afterlife composer Rob Simonsen. This is the first film in the Ghostbusters franchise to be released following the death of the franchise's co-creator and Jason Reitman's father Ivan Reitman, who posthumously receives credit as a producer alongside his son and Jason Blumenfeld. Additionally, the film is dedicated to Ivan's memory and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first film.[1]

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire had its world premiere at the AMC 13 Theater at Lincoln Square in New York City on March 14, 2024, and was released in the United States on March 22, by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label. The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed over $64 million worldwide.

Plot[]

Template:Longplot In July 1904, New York City Fire Department (FDNY) firefighters find over thirty people frozen to death inside a gentlemen's club despite extreme heat outside, while a strange chant in extinct languages plays from a phonograph. The only survivor is a woman in a suit of armor, clutching a mysterious orb.

In the present day, Callie Spengler, her boyfriend Gary Grooberson, and her children Trevor and Phoebe have taken up residence in the New York firehouse, while Trevor and Phoebe's old friends Podcast and Lucky Domingo work with Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore respectively, with their expenses being covered by the latter.[lower-alpha 2]

After catching the Hell's Kitchen Sewer Dragon following a dangerous chase downtown, the team faces public backlash and threats from Mayor Walter Peck, a longtime opponent of the Ghostbusters.[lower-alpha 3] To appease Peck, Callie suspends the rebellious teenage Phoebe from the field until she is a legal adult, while Gary struggles with his role as the children’s father figure and sharing Callie's fear that Phoebe would get hurt. While her family are out, Phoebe meets and befriends a ghost named Melody, who died in a fire with her own family when she was 16 years old and is not able to rest in peace.

Ray and Podcast have been collecting cursed objects at Ray’s Occult Books. One patron, Nadeem Razmaadi, sells Ray the orb, which belonged to his late grandmother; when Ray tests its PKE levels, the orb unleashes a psychic charge that damages the wall around the firehouse's ecto-containment unit, which is dangerously close to capacity after 40 years. Winston and Lucky introduce the Spenglers to Winston's privately owned Paranormal Research Center, where people under Dr. Lars Pinfield are being trained to become Ghostbusters and modifying Callie's deceased father Egon Spengler’s ghostbusting inventions. Despite having reverse-engineered Egon's ecto-containment technology into a machine that can extract spiritual energy, Pinfield is unable to pull anything from the orb.

Trevor, Pinfield and Lucky visit Nadeem and discover the hidden brass-lined chamber where Nadeem's grandmother stored the orb. Nadeem himself is also charged with mystical energy, and a psychological evaluation by Peter Venkman reveals that Nadeem has latent pyrokinetic powers. Melody visits Phoebe at the firehouse, where she takes special interest in the containment unit. Unbeknownst to Phoebe, Melody is manipulating her on behalf of the trapped entity from the orb.

Ray, Phoebe and Podcast visit Dr. Hubert Wartzki at the New York Public Library, where he explains that the orb was meant to imprison a demonic god, Garraka, who sought to conquer their dimension with his ability to telepathically control ghosts and to lower temperatures to absolute zero when feeding upon negative emotions like fear. Garraka was trapped after a battle with four sorcerers, the Fire Masters, thousands of years ago; he was briefly freed later by the Manhattan Adventurers Society in 1904, killing its members before being recaptured by one of the Fire Masters' descendants (Nadeem's grandmother), and the library had archived the phonograph cylinder recording of the club's ritual. A ghost known as "the Possessor" attempts to steal the cylinder, which is destroyed alongside one of the library’s marble lions during the ensuing chase. In response to the damage, Peck seizes the firehouse and impounds the Ghostbusters' original equipment.

Phoebe runs away from her family to see Melody, and deliberately turns herself into a ghost for two minutes with the lab’s extraction machine so that she and Melody can physically interact, but Melody reveals that she agreed to free Garraka from his prison. By forcing Phoebe to recite the chant and resisting Lucky’s attempts to stop him, Garraka escapes his prison and freezes the city. Realizing that Garraka intends to free the ghosts from the containment unit to rebuild his army, the Ghostbusters gather to defend their headquarters with new gear, while Nadeem dons his grandmother's armor and practices his pyrokinesis to help them.

When Garraka arrives, he easily overwhelms the Ghostbusters and breaks the containment unit, freeing the captured ghosts. Phoebe reconfigures her proton pack with brass, making Garraka vulnerable to its stream. Melody turns on Garraka, realizing that he did not intend to honor their deal, and helps Phoebe and Nadeem restrain him, while Ray reconfigures the unit to trap the god. Helping the Ghostbusters allows Melody to ascend to the afterlife, and she reconciles with Phoebe before joining her family. The city thaws, and the Ghostbusters are hailed as heroes; despite Peck threatening to shut them down, they coerce him into supporting the team and reinstating Phoebe. Having learned to appreciate her family from Melody, Phoebe accepts Gary as her father, and the team begins rounding up the escaped ghosts, including the Sewer Dragon and Slimer.

In a mid-credits scene, several Mini-Pufts[lower-alpha 4] steal a large tractor trailer filled with Stay-Puft Marshmallows from a truck stop.

Cast[]

Main article: List of Ghostbusters characters


  • Mckenna Grace as Phoebe Spengler
  • Finn Wolfhard as Trevor Spengler
  • Paul Rudd as Gary Grooberson
  • Carrie Coon as Callie Spengler
  • Kumail Nanjiani as Nadeem Razmaadi[7]
  • Patton Oswalt as Dr. Hubert Wartzki[7]
  • Celeste O'Connor as Lucky Domingo
  • Logan Kim as Podcast[8]
  • Emily Alyn Lind as Melody
  • James Acaster as Dr. Lars Pinfield[7]
  • Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman[9]
  • Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond "Ray" Stantz[10]
  • Ernie Hudson as Dr. Winston Zeddemore[11]
  • Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz[12]
  • William Atherton as Mayor Walter Peck[13]


Additionally, Kevin Mangold serves as the puppeteer for Slimer, while Ian Whyte serves as the puppeteer for Garraka. Shelby Young and Ryan Bartley appear uncredited as the voice the Mini-Pufts, tiny versions and replicated forms of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, with Young returning from Afterlife.[14]

Production[]

Development[]

Following the release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife in November 2021, Dan Aykroyd expressed interest in having the surviving cast of the original Ghostbusters team reprise their roles in up to three sequels.[15] In April 2022, it was announced that a sequel to Afterlife was in early development at Sony Pictures.[16][17]

In June 2022, the film was confirmed by director Jason Reitman under the working title Firehouse.[18] That same month it was announced that the sequel would take place in New York City.[19] On October 5, 2022, Mckenna Grace announced that she would reprise her role.[20] The following month, Ernie Hudson revealed he read a script for the film.[21]

In December 2022, it was announced that Gil Kenan would take over as director from Reitman, who still remains as a writer and producer. It was also announced that Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, and Carrie Coon would return.[22] In March 2023, it was announced that Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, James Acaster and Emily Alyn Lind had been cast in the film.[23]

According to Nanjiani, the filmmakers drew inspiration from the animated series The Real Ghostbusters (1986–1991) for the film, noting they "wanted to make a long episode of the animated series".[24]

Filming[]

Principal photography began on March 20, 2023, in London,[25] under the working title Firehouse, with Eric Steelberg serving as the cinematographer.[11][26] On April 25, 2023, Hudson indicated that Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Annie Potts would reprise their roles from previous Ghostbusters movies in the film;[27] Aykroyd confirmed he would return for the sequel in June 2023.[28]

Filming was spotted in New York City where Casey Neistat was caught filming a stunt scene in a video posted on June 7, 2023 while documenting the effects of the 2023 Canadian wildfires in New York City.[29] Filming wrapped on June 23.[30]

Music[]

On January 18, 2024, Dario Marianelli was confirmed to compose the film's score, replacing Afterlife composer Rob Simonsen. This marked Marianelli's second collaboration with Gil Kenan after A Boy Called Christmas (2021). He recorded his score on the Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage in the newly named John Williams Music Building on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City.[31] Peter Bernstein returned as score consultant, after doing so for Afterlife.[32]

On March 7, 2024 Japanese girl group Atarashii Gakko! released a track called Ghostbusters: Frozen Summer as a collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan.[33] It samples Ray Parker Jr.'s song.

Release[]

Theatrical[]

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire had its world premiere in New York City on March 14, 2024,[34] and was released by Sony Pictures Releasing on March 22, 2024.[2] It was previously scheduled to be released on December 20, 2023,[35][36][37] but was delayed to March 29, 2024, (taking over the original release date of Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse) in July 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, before being moved up a week to March 22.[37][2]

Marketing[]

On November 8, 2023, Sony released the first teaser trailer, which officially revealed the title as Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, as well as revealing the synopsis for the film.[38]

Reception[]

Box office[]

As of March 26, 2024, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has grossed $47.8 million in the United States and Canada and $16.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $64.2 million.[39][40]

In the United States and Canada, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was released alongside Immaculate and Late Night with the Devil, and was projected to gross $43–45 million from 4,345 theaters in its opening weekend.[41] The film made $16 million on its first day, including $4.7 million from Thursday night previews, slightly topping Afterlife's $4.5 million. It went on to debut to $45 million, landing between the opening weekends of Ghostbusters ($46 million in 2016) and Afterlife ($44 million in 2021), topping the box office, and pushing the Ghostbusters franchise past the $1 billion mark.[42]

Critical response[]

Based on 44 professional critic reviews, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 5.2% of those reviews were positive, with an average rating of 234/10. On the website, the critics' consensus reads, "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire offers a certain amount of nostalgia-fueled fun for fans of the original, but a crowded cast and surprisingly serious tone prevent this sequel from truly sparking." It is the lowest-rated installment in the franchise on the site.[43] Using a weighted average calculator, Metacritic assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it an 80% overall positive score, with 64% saying they would definitely recommend the film.[42]

Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the film one star out of five, writing that "There is a noxious undead pong emanating from this latest entry in the 1980s franchise, which is now being necromantically sustained through force of sheer commercial desperation, and nothing else."[44] Wendy Ide of The Guardian awarded the movie two stars out of five, lamenting that the "unoriginal" film does not make the most of its young cast.[45] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, writing that it "carries the same endearingly goofy, science-nerd spirit of the first film and delivers a delightful balance of slimy ghost stuff, sharp one-liners, terrific VFX and a steady stream of callbacks to various characters, human and otherwise, from the 1984 movie."[46]

Future[]

In February 2024, Gil Kenan revealed that ideas for multiple future films in the Ghostbusters franchise were discussed.[47][48]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ Although Reitman died in 2022, he received a posthumous producer credit on the film.[1][2]
  2. ↑ As depicted in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
  3. ↑ As first depicted in Ghostbusters (1984)
  4. ↑ First seen in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ivan Reitman, producer, 'Ghostbusters' director, dies at 75 (February 13, 2022).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Grobar, Matt (January 9, 2024). 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire's Release Date Pushed Forward By Sony.
  3. ↑ https://ghostbustersnews.com/2023/07/19/bron-creative-production-company-behind-joker-and-ghostbusters-afterlife-files-for-bankruptcy/
  4. ↑ https://screenrant.com/ghostbusters-frozen-empire-movie-good-ghosts-afterlife-setup/
  5. ↑ Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (12A) (March 12, 2024).
  6. ↑ Lussier, Germain (2024-03-19). Why Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Has a 2-Year Time Jump.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Travis, Ben (2024-01-15). James Acaster Plays An 'Egon Spengler Type' Inventor In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – Exclusive Image (en-US).
  8. ↑ 'Ghostbusters' Sequel Confirmed To Return Franchise To New York City – Sony CinemaCon Presentation (en-US) (2023-04-24).
  9. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Jason (2023-06-14). Dan Aykroyd confirms Bill Murray is back for the upcoming Ghostbusters sequel, calls the story 'heartfelt' (en-US).
  10. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Jason (2023-06-02). Dan Aykroyd says next Ghostbusters will include "good scares and great comedy," talks handing the franchise off to a new generation (en-US).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Squires, John (2023-03-20). 'Firehouse' – Filming on the Next 'Ghostbusters' Movie Kicked Off Today (en-US).
  12. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Jason (2023-06-08). Watch Ghostbusters sequel cast wish fans a "Happy Ghostbusters Day" (en-US).
  13. ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.@MI_Ghostbusers (21 April 2023). "FIREHOUSE pix have dropped! Peck is BACK! Grooberson obviously wearing a flight suit!" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 April 2023 – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Young, Shelby [@shelby_young] (March 23, 2024). "WHO YA GONNA CALL?! ☎️ The Mini-Pufts are back! I'm overjoyed to get to be a part of bringing these little chaos marshmallows to life again in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire!!! 🧊👻" (Tweet). Retrieved March 24, 2024 – via Twitter.
  15. ↑ Fidducia, Christopher (18 December 2021). Ghostbusters 4, 5 & 6 Could Happen With Original Team, Says Dan Aykroyd.
  16. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (2022-04-26). 'Venom 3,' 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' Sequel in the Works at Sony.
  17. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2022-04-26). Sony Calling Up Another 'Ghostbusters' Movie — CinemaCon.
  18. ↑ Leston, Ryan (2022-06-09). Ghostbusters: Afterlife Director Announces a Sequel, Another 'Spengler Family' Movie.
  19. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  20. ↑ Dela Paz, Maggie (October 5, 2022). Mckenna Grace Confirms Return in Ghostbusters: Afterlife Sequel.
  21. ↑ Hermanns, Grant (2022-11-05). Ghostbusters 4 Gets Promising Script Update From Ernie Hudson.
  22. ↑ Kroll, Justin (December 5, 2022). 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' Sequel Taps Gil Kenan To Direct With Previous Cast Returning.
  23. ↑ Kroll, Justin (2023-03-24). Kumail Nanjiani And Patton Oswalt Among Newest Additions To Cast Of 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' Sequel (en-US).
  24. ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kumail Nanjiani [@kumailn] (2023-11-09). "Also I am a huge fan of The Real Ghostbusters (the animated series) and that show was a point of reference for this movie. The filmmakers wanted to make a long episode of the animated series. So if you love that show as I do, be excited" (Tweet). Retrieved 2023-11-10 – via Twitter.
  25. ↑ What's On Screen and Filming in London? - May 2023 (en-US) (2023-05-03).
  26. ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sony Pictures [@SonyPictures] (March 20, 2023). "Back in the Firehouse. Day one! #Ghostbusters" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023 – via Twitter.
  27. ↑ Ernie Hudson seemingly confirms original Ghostbusters cast will return in the upcoming sequel (en-US) (2023-03-24).
  28. ↑ Template:Citation
  29. ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.NYC; The Worst Air Quality on the Planet. Event occurs at 1:08. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  30. ↑ Filming wraps on the upcoming Ghostbusters sequel (June 23, 2023).
  31. ↑ Dario Marianelli Scoring Gil Kenan's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (January 18, 2024).
  32. ↑ Credits - Peter Bernstein.
  33. ↑ Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire receives an official music video from Japanese girl group TARASHII GAKKO! (March 8, 2024).
  34. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Jason (2024-02-16). Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire's world premiere set for New York City.
  35. ↑ McClintock, Pamela (2022-06-28). 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' Sequel to Hit Theaters in December 2023.
  36. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2022-06-28). Sony Dates 'Ghostbusters' Sequel For 2023.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Lopez, Kristen (July 28, 2023). Sony Pushes 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' Sequel to Easter 2024.
  38. ↑ Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire | Sony Pictures United Kingdom.
  39. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named BOM
  40. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named NUM
  41. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Variety-Proj
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 24, 2024). ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ Propels Franchise Past $1B As Sequel Opens To $45M+ – Sunday AM Update.
  43. ↑ Ghostbusters Movies Ranked by Tomatometer.
  44. ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – this is a shameful sequel". The Daily Telegraph. March 20, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  45. ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire review – cut-and-paste copy of the original". The Guardian. March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  46. ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Roeper, Richard. "Delightful 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' gets the franchise back on track". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  47. ↑ Ghostbusters 4 cast and director already have ideas for more sequels: "We know what the next stories are going to be" (February 28, 2024).
  48. ↑ Ridgely, Charlie (February 28, 2024). Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Cast and Crew Already Have More Sequel Plans in Mind.

External links[]

  • Template:Official Website
  • Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire at IMDbLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 36: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Template:Ghostbusters Template:Gil Kenan Template:Jason Reitman Template:Ivan Reitman Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 181: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

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