“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” directed by Gil Kenan and co-written by Jason Reitman, serves as the 2024 sequel to “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” It reunites a star-studded cast, including Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Bill Murray, among others. The storyline follows the veteran Ghostbusters team as they team up with new recruits to thwart a chilling deity’s plans to create a spectral army in New York City. The film’s production, announced after the success of “Afterlife,” underwent a directorial change in December 2022, with Kenan stepping in. Principal photography occurred between March and June 2023, with Dario Marianelli composing the score. Dedicated to the memory of Ivan Reitman, the co-creator of the franchise and father of Jason Reitman, the film marks the franchise’s first release since Ivan Reitman’s passing and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the original film.
CHARACTERS
- Paul Rudd portrays Gary Grooberson
- Carrie Coon plays Callie Spengler
- Finn Wolfhard stars as Trevor Spenglera
- Mckenna Grace takes on the role of Phoebe Spengler
- Kumail Nanjiani appears as Nadeem Razmaadi
- Patton Oswalt as Dr. Hubert Wartzki
- Celeste O’Connor as Lucky Domingo
- and Logan Kim as Podcast
- Emily Alyn Lind portrays Melody
- James Acaster as Dr. Lars Pinfield
While the original cast includes Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman, Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond “Ray” Stantz, Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore, Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz, and William Atherton as Mayor Walter Peck.
STORYLINE
Three years following the events in Summerville, Oklahoma, Callie Spengler, along with her boyfriend Gary Grooberson, her children Trevor and Phoebe, and their friends Lucky Domingo and Podcast, move to New York City to assist Winston Zeddemore and Ray Stantz in reviving the Ghostbusters. While the group successfully captures a ghost in Hell’s Kitchen, Mayor Walter Peck threatens to shut them down. In response, Callie decides to sideline Phoebe, who is underage. Upset by this decision, Phoebe seeks solace in playing chess at a nearby park, where she encounters and befriends Melody, a ghost chess prodigy who perished in a fire.
Meanwhile, Ray and Podcast procure cursed objects for examination. They acquire a mysterious brass orb from Nadeem Razmaadi, suspecting it to be an apotropaic trap. However, the orb emits a psionic pulse that damages the ecto-containment unit at the Ghostbusters’ headquarters. Winston takes the orb to his paranormal research center, where Dr. Lars Pinfield attempts to extract spiritual energy from it without success. To unravel the orb’s mysteries, Trevor, Lucky, and Pinfield visit Nadeem, who reveals its significance. Peter Venkman discovers Nadeem’s latent pyrokinetic abilities during their interaction.
Simultaneously, Ray, accompanied by Phoebe and Podcast, seeks information from Dr. Hubert Wartzki at the New York Public Library. Wartzki reveals the orb’s connection to four sorcerers known as the Firemasters and their imprisonment of Garraka, a demonic god seeking world domination. Phoebe learns about her ancestry’s involvement in containing Garraka and his vulnerability to copper alloys combined with fire.
When Phoebe’s involvement with the Ghostbusters becomes a target for Peck, she runs away with Melody to Winston’s research center. Using the extraction equipment, Phoebe projects herself as a ghost to communicate with Melody. However, Melody reveals her treachery, aiding Garraka in exchange for passage to the afterlife. Phoebe inadvertently frees Garraka, leading to chaos as he freezes the city and plans to release the ghosts from the containment unit.
In a desperate attempt to stop Garraka, the Ghostbusters, along with Nadeem, gear up for a showdown. Phoebe modifies her proton pack with copper alloys to combat Garraka, while Melody assists Nadeem in harnessing his powers against the god. Despite Garraka’s strength, the team manages to trap him with the ruptured containment unit, with Melody redeeming herself before departing for the afterlife.
As the city returns to normalcy, the Ghostbusters are hailed as heroes, with Peck compelled to support them and reinstate Phoebe. The team embarks on a mission to recapture the escaped ghosts across New York City.
BOX-OFFICE COLLECTION
As of May 5, 2024, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has accumulated $109.9 million in the United States and Canada and $85.2 million in other territories, resulting in a global gross of $195.1 million.
In North America, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire premiered alongside Immaculate and Late Night with the Devil, with initial estimates predicting an opening weekend revenue of $43–45 million from 4,345 theaters. On its first day, the film garnered $16 million, including $4.7 million from Thursday night previews, surpassing the preview earnings of Afterlife by $0.2 million. Ultimately, it debuted with $45 million, placing it between the opening weekends of Ghostbusters ($46 million in 2016) and Afterlife ($44 million in 2021), securing the top spot at the box office and propelling the Ghostbusters franchise beyond the $1 billion milestone. In its second weekend, the film experienced a 65% decline, earning $15.7 million and finishing second to the new release Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
