Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jason Reitman
Written by	Gil Kenan Jason Reitman
Based on	Ghostbusters by Dan Aykroyd Harold Ramis
Produced by	Ivan Reitman
Starring	Carrie Coon Finn Wolfhard Mckenna Grace Paul Rudd
Cinematography	Eric Steelberg
Edited by	Dana E. Glauberman Nathan Orloff
Music by	Rob Simonsen
Production companies	Columbia Pictures Bron Creative Ghost Corps
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Releasing
Release dates	August 23, 2021 (2021-08-23) (CinemaCon) November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19) (United States)
Running time	124 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$75 million[2]
Box office	$204.3 million[3][4]

Ghostbusters: Afterlife^[a] is a 2021 American supernatural comedy film directed by Jason Reitman from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gil Kenan. It is the sequel to Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), and the fourth film in the Ghostbusters franchise. The film stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Paul Rudd, alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver reprising their characters from the earlier films. Set 32 years after the events of Ghostbusters II, it follows a single mother and her children who move to an Oklahoma farm they inherited from her estranged father Egon Spengler, a member of the original Ghostbusters.

A third Ghostbusters film was in development since the release of Ghostbusters II, but production stalled because Murray refused to return to the series. After Harold Ramis died on February 24, 2014, Sony Pictures produced a female-driven reboot that was released in 2016. In January 2019, it was announced that Jason Reitman would direct a sequel to the original films, with the new cast being announced by July, while the original cast signed on two months later. Principal photography took place from July to October of the same year. Rob Simonsen, a frequent collaborator of Jason, was hired to compose the film's score. This was the final film to be produced by and involve the franchise's co-creator and Jason's father Ivan Reitman before his death in February 2022.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife was screened unannounced during CinemaCon in Las Vegas on August 23, 2021, and was released in the United States on November 19, by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label, after being delayed four times from an original July 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the cast's performances, Reitman's direction, nostalgic tone, and its respectful tribute to Ramis, with criticism mostly being directed towards its screenplay and fan service. It grossed $204 million worldwide against a production budget of $75 million. A sequel titled Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was released on March 22, 2024.

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