Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is a 2024 American supernatural comedy directed by Gil Kenan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jason Reitman. It serves as the sequel to “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” (2021), marking the fourth mainline installment and the fifth film overall in the Ghostbusters franchise. The film features 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 returning from earlier films. New additions to the cast include Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, and James Acaster.

Set three years after the events of “Afterlife,” the plot centers on the veteran Ghostbusters teaming up with their new recruits to save New York City from a god-like spectral entity aiming to build a ghostly army.

Following the success of “Afterlife,” Sony Pictures announced the sequel in April 2022. While Jason Reitman was initially set to direct, Gil Kenan took over as director in December 2022, with Reitman remaining as a co-writer and producer. Principal photography began in March 2023 and concluded in June. Dario Marianelli composed the score, replacing “Afterlife” composer Rob Simonsen. This film marks the first release in the franchise after the passing of co-creator Ivan Reitman, who is honored in the credits as a producer alongside his son and Jason Blumenfeld. The movie, dedicated to Ivan Reitman, also celebrates the 40th anniversary of the original “Ghostbusters” film.

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” premiered at 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 the Columbia Pictures label. While critics offered mixed reviews, audience feedback was generally positive, and the film has grossed over $201 million worldwide.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Movie Trailer

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Movie Storyline

Three years after the events in Summerville, Oklahoma, Callie Spengler, her boyfriend Gary Grooberson, her children Trevor and Phoebe, and their friends Lucky Domingo and Podcast move to New York City to help Winston Zeddemore and Ray Stantz revive the Ghostbusters. After capturing a ghost in Hell’s Kitchen, Walter Peck, their old adversary now serving as Mayor, threatens to shut them down.

To placate Peck, Callie removes Phoebe from the team. Distraught, Phoebe tries to manage her emotions by playing chess in a park, where she befriends Melody, the ghost of a teenage girl who perished in a fire.

Meanwhile, Ray and Podcast are examining cursed objects. They purchase a mysterious brass orb with Mesopotamian Arabic markings from Nadeem Razmaadi. Ray identifies it as an apotropaic trap, used in ancient rituals to ward off the supernatural.

When Ray measures the orb’s PKE levels, it releases a cold wave that damages the Ghostbusters’ ecto-containment unit, which is nearly full. Winston takes the orb to his private paranormal research center, but Dr. Lars Pinfield’s experimental device fails to extract spiritual energy from it. Instead, the orb’s captive ghost sabotages an ecto-confinement unit, allowing a ghost to escape into Podcast’s equipment.

To investigate further, Lars joins Trevor and Lucky in visiting Nadeem, who reveals the orb was hidden by his grandmother in a brass-lined chamber. Peter Venkman is brought in and discovers that Nadeem has latent pyrokinetic abilities.

Ray, Phoebe, and Podcast consult Dr. Hubert Wartzki at the New York Public Library. Wartzki explains that the orb was created 4,000 years ago by the Firemasters to imprison Garraka, a phantom god intent on conquering the world with an undead army using “Kusharit Umoti” – “the power to kill through fear.”

Nadeem’s grandmother, a descendant of the Firemasters, had contained Garraka in the orb in 1904 during a ritual by the Manhattan Adventurers’ Society. Garraka was imprisoned due to the orb’s brass composition and fire, which, combined with the removal of his horns, trapped him inside.

As the trio tries to stop the ghost from stealing a phonographic recording of the ritual, Peck uses Phoebe’s involvement to shut down the Ghostbusters. After a heated argument with Gary and her mother, Phoebe runs away, taking Melody to Winston’s research center. Using the center’s equipment, Phoebe projects herself as a ghost for two minutes to interact with Melody.

Melody reveals she had been secretly aiding Garraka, who has promised her passage to the afterlife. By controlling Phoebe’s spirit, Garraka forces her body to recite the ritual chant, freeing himself and beginning to freeze the city.

The Ghostbusters, realizing Garraka will release the ghosts from the containment unit, prepare to defend their headquarters. They are joined by Nadeem, who dons his grandmother’s Firemaster brass armor and learns to harness his powers.

Garraka overpowers them and breaches the containment unit. Phoebe electroplates Egon Spengler’s proton pack with brass to enhance it, while Melody, betrayed by Garraka, helps Nadeem weaken him. Ray and the veteran Ghostbusters capture Garraka by improvising the ruptured containment unit into a giant trap.

Melody reconciles with Phoebe before moving on to the afterlife to be with her family. As New York City thaws, the Ghostbusters are celebrated as heroes, Peck is forced to support them, and Phoebe is reinstated. The team resumes their ghost-catching duties across the city.

In a mid-credits scene, a trucker exits his Stay-Puft Marshmallows truck to use a vending machine, while Mini-Pufts steal his vehicle in his absence.

Box Office

• Budget
  • $100,000,000 (estimated)
• Gross US & Canada
  • $113,376,590
• Opening weekend US & Canada
  • $45,004,673
  • Mar 24, 2024
• Gross worldwide
  • $201,844,268

Technical Space

• Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
• Color
  • Color
• Sound mix
  • IMAX 6-Track
  • Dolby Atmos
• Aspect ratio
  • 2.39 : 1

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