The Ghostbusters franchise is expanding again with the release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The film marks the fourth installment in the series after the franchise’s recent revival. For newcomers to the franchise or those seeking a refresher, this guide will explain how and where to stream the Ghostbusters movies and TV shows in order.
The franchise started with the 1984 movie Ghostbusters. Audiences were enthralled by the story of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), four men who start a ghost-hunting business. Ghostbusters’ solid performances, witty dialogue, clever script, and catchy theme song resulted in the movie becoming a cultural phenomenon and far exceeding box office and critical expectations.
Columbia Pictures was eager for a sequel, but trouble was brewing from the start. The sequel had a notoriously difficult time getting all the original actors to sign on. Meanwhile, production was rushed, and large portions of the movie were scrapped. Hence, Ghostbusters II was hardly comparable to the original's success, largely diminishing hopes for the third installment.
When original Ghostbusters star Ramis passed away in 2014, hope for a direct sequel was so low that Sony rebooted the franchise with Ghostbusters (2016). The movie swapped out the lead cast for an all-female lead cast, including Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. The film was such a box office flop that the idea of a reboot sequel was quickly shut down.
Finally, Jason Reitman, the son of Ghostbusters’ original director, Ivan Reitman, saved the franchise. He did the impossible and convinced the three surviving original Ghostbusters actors to reprise their roles. He also tapped Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace for the next generation of ghost-hunters. The result was the 2021 movie Ghostbusters: Afterlife, a fresh new take on the franchise that proved to be a touching tribute to Ramis. The movie teased that there was more to come from the revived franchise, and it wasn’t long before Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was greenlit, with all the original and new cast members from Ghostbusters: Afterlife returning.
The best way to watch the Ghostbusters films is by release date order since the films were released chronologically. Additionally, there are three animated spinoff series that aren’t necessary to understand the movies but are fun to watch for the whole franchise experience. Here’s the franchise in order by release date from newest to oldest.
