Ghostbusters Movies in Order: Get ready for some serious slime-time and redo one of those old ghost comedies, with the ultimate Ghostbusters film series, containing the original classic Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2 along with Paul Feig’s brand-new hilarious take on the classic, supernatural comedy!
Based on the same storyline, the franchise ostensibly centers on a group of eccentric New York City scientists who investigate and capture ghosts for a living, they also encounter other paranormal manifestations such as demigods and demons that threaten the world. The franchise was created in 1984, with its first release “Ghostbusters” which is followed by two more sequels that continues the original film canon with Ghostbusters II and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).
The Ghostbusters use a specialized set of equipment in the 1984 film, and all subsequent Ghostbusters fiction includes similar equipment to aid in the capture and containment of ghosts. Even at that time, there was plausible research that could point to a device that could capture ectoplasm or materialization; at least visually.
So if you want to experience a freewheeling, marvelously cast supernatural comedy— Watch Ghostbusters Movies in Order guide’s here. But you can also enjoy Ghostbuster films as standalone.
In what order should I watch Ghostbusters movies?
There are four different way to enjoy Ghostbusters story chronology:
1. Original continuity Ghostbusters
2. Ghostbusters film/animated continuity
3. Ghostbusters The Video Game continuity
4. Ghostbusters Reboot continuity
How to Watch Ghostbusters Movies in Chronological Order
[Including TV Series and Game]
Original Ghostbusters Continuity
1. Ghostbusters (1984)
2. Ghostbusters II (1989)
3. Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Suit up for classic comedy! With the most successful comedy films of the 1980s film “ Ghostbusters (1984)“. In the film, When kooky, spooky college profs Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) lose their university jobs, they decide to go freelance, de-haunting houses in a new ghost removal service. As soon as they open their doors, their first order of business becomes saving beautiful cellist Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and nerdy Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), who’ve inadvertently opened the gates of hell…right in their own apartment building! UHD Synopsis: When kooky, spooky college profs Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) lose their university jobs, they decide to go freelance, de-haunting New York City with a new ghost removal service. As soon as they open their doors, their first order of business becomes saving beautiful cellist Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and nerdy Louis Tuilly (Rick Moranis), who’ve inadvertently opened the gates of hell…right in their own apar.
On a US$30 million budget, but it grossed approximately US$240 million in the United States and over US$50 million abroad during its theatrical run, more than the domestic gross of the second Indiana Jones installment, making it the most successful film in America that year.
In Ghostbusters2, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson take up their proton packs once more to battle the forces of evil in Manhattan! Five years after waging a war on slime that cost New York City millions, the they find themselves out of business until an ancient tyrant, preparing a return to the Earthly domain through his portrait at the Manhattan Museum of Modern Art, sets his sights on Dana Barrett’s baby as the new home for his wicked soul! With the help of the Museum’s possessed curator, he plans to turn New York into a really scary place to live! Now only the Ghostbusters can save New York City, by turning paranormal pest control into an art form!
As the sequel to the then-highest-grossing comedy film of all time, Ghostbusters II was expected to dominate the box office. Instead, the film earned $215.4 million during its theatrical run compared with the original’s $282.2 million, making it the eighth-highest-grossing film of the year.
The next chapter in the original Ghostbusters universe, Ghostbusters: Afterlife take place thirty-two years after the second, the Ghostbusters have disbanded and their legacy is mostly forgotten. The late Egon Spengler’s teenage grandchildren (Finn Wolfhard and Mackenna Grace) find themselves following in their grandfather’s ghost-battling footsteps in this long-awaited direct sequel to the ’80s flicks. Armed with vintage proton packs, can the kids-with a little help from some of Egon’s old friends-defeat the Ghostbusters’ otherworldly foe, Gozer, who’s returned to wreak more havoc on Earth?
Ghostbusters: Afterlife has grossed $204 million worldwide against a production budget of $75 million. The site’s critical consensus reads, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife crosses the streams between franchise revival and exercise in nostalgia — and this time around, the bustin’ mostly feels good”. A sequel is set to be released on December 20, 2023.
Ghostbusters Film/Animated Continuity
1. Ghostbusters (1984)
2. The Real Ghostbusters (Season 1-4)
3. Ghostbusters II (1989)
4. The Real Ghostbusters (Season 5-7)
5. Extreme Ghostbusters (Season 1)
Characters from the 1984 blockbuster continued to answer calls for help against all manner of paranormal nuisances. The Real Ghostbusters is an American animated television series, a spinoff of the 1984 comedy movie Ghostbusters, continues the adventures of paranormal investigators Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, their secretary Janine Melnitz and their mascot ghost Slimer. The show expanded to an hour in September 1988 and was retitled ‘Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters.’
The Common Sense Media gave the series a three out of five stars: “Parents need to know that The Real Ghostbusters is an animated series spun off the mega-popular 1984 movie Ghostbusters (the “Real” was added to avoid confusion with an unrelated cartoon of the same name). The core characters remain the same, though the cartoon is skewed toward younger kids and as such, drops the swearing, the smoking, and the sexual innuendo. While the Ghostbusters do spend their days vanquishing evil, the monsters and phantoms they encounter are often quite silly (some of them even make wisecracks) and not too scary”.
Set years after the end of The Real Ghostbusters, The Extreme Ghostbusters features a team of college-aged Ghostbusters led by veteran Ghostbuster Egon Spengler. Proving that there’s still life in the old story, Ghostbusters gets another reincarnation, with state-of-the-art animation that’s both riotous and genuinely spooky.
The series follows the adventures of this “Next Generation” of Ghostbusters tracking down and capturing ghosts all over New York and occasionally beyond the city. The series is styled as a supernatural comedy, following the trend set by its predecessor but with an updated and darker feel. This is reflected by the use of a gritty, rock/punk-inspired variation of Ray Parker Jr.’s song “Ghostbusters” as the opening theme, written by Jim Latham and performed by voice actor Jim Cummings. Recurring themes throughout the series are the new team learning to work together despite their differences, Janine’s largely unrequited affection for Egon, the unresolved love-hate relationship between Kylie and Eduardo, and the Ghostbusters’ frequent clashes with authority figures who disbelieve their work.
Ghostbusters The Video Game Continuity
1. Ghostbusters (1984)
2. Ghostbusters II (1989)
3. Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009)
Continuing the story of original films, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is set two years after Ghostbusters II, in 1991, with the Ghostbusters team training the player’s character while investigating paranormal activities in New York City.
The single player campaign will put you through a story full of mystery and adventure. Based on the Ghostbusters media franchise, many of the principal cast members from the films were involved in the game’s production. Each of the actors who portrayed the Ghostbusters in the films (Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson) lent their voices and likenesses to the in-game characters.
The game follows the player’s character as a recruit in the Ghostbusters, a team of parapsychologists who pursue and capture ghosts. The game features elements of typical third-person shooters, but instead of a traditional gun, each player is equipped with a Proton Pack, and other technological means of fighting and capturing ghosts.
Ghostbusters Reboot Continuity
1. Ghostbusters (2016)
Ghostbusters makes its long-awaited return, rebooted with a cast of hilarious new characters. Thirty years after the beloved original franchise took the world by storm, Ghostbusters is back and fully rebooted for a new generation. Director Paul Feig brings his fresh take to the supernatural comedy, joined by some of the funniest actors working today, but follows a similar narrative as the original film.
This time Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth team up to save Manhattan from a sudden invasion of spirits, spooks and slime that threaten to engulf the entire city.
In the film, Paranormal researcher Abby Yates and physicist Erin Gilbert are trying to prove that ghosts exist in modern society. When strange apparitions appear in Manhattan, Gilbert and Yates turn to engineer Jillian Holtzmann for help. Also joining the team is Patty Tolan, a lifelong New Yorker who knows the city inside and out. Armed with proton packs and plenty of attitude, the four women prepare for an epic battle as more than 1,000 mischievous ghouls descend on Times Square.
The film received mixed reviews, and grossed $229 million worldwide against its $144 million budget, making it a box office bomb with losses of over $70 million following theaters taking their revenue cut.
How many Ghostbusters Movies are there?
The Ghostbusters film series consists of a total of FOUR (4) movies which takes place in 1984’s Ghostbusters and is followed by Two sequels Ghostbusters II (1989) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). The 2016 film, Ghostbusters, is a remake of the 1984 film franchise which takes place in an alternate universe, featuring a new cast of characters.
The franchise expanded with licensed action figures, books, comic books, video games, television series, theme park attractions, and other original Ghostbusters-themed products.
All Ghostbusters Movies in Order of Release Date
Here is the Ghostbusters movie franchise, in the order, they were released.
1. Ghostbusters — June 8, 1984
2. Ghostbusters II — June 16, 1989
3. Ghostbusters — July 15, 2016 (1984’s Reboot)
4. Ghostbusters: Afterlife — November 19, 2021
5. Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel — December 20, 2023
Is Ghostbusters a horror movies?
When it comes to Ghostbusters, the line between funny and scary is razor thin. The original 1984 film was a little scarier, but there was enough comedy woven throughout to keep things from going full horror.
Where to watch Ghostbusters Movies?
You are able to stream the Ghostbusters films in order by renting or purchasing on Amazon Prime because it is pretty much solely available to watch on Amazon Prime, you may be able to Rent and buy on Vudu and iTunes Apple.
Thanks for Visit!
