Ghostbusters (2016 film)

Ghostbusters (also known as Ghostbusters: Answer the Call) is a 2016 American supernatural comedy film directed by Paul Feig, who co-wrote it with Katie Dippold. Starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon and Chris Hemsworth, it is a reboot of the Ghostbusters franchise, as well as serving as its third installment. The story focuses on a quartet of eccentric women who start a ghost-catching business after a paranormal encounter. A third Ghostbusters film had been in various stages of development following the release of Ghostbusters II in 1989. Sony Pictures rebooted the series following the death of the original cast member Harold Ramis in 2014 and because another cast member, Bill Murray, refused to commit to a sequel. Some of the original cast and their family members make cameos in new roles and Ramis is commemorated in the film's closing credits. The announcement of the female-led cast in 2015 drew a polarized response from the public. Ghostbusters premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on July 9, 2016, and was released in the United States on July 15, by Sony Pictures Releasing through its Columbia Pictures label. The film grossed $229 million worldwide against a $144 million production budget, making it a box-office bomb with losses for the studio of over $70 million. Sony abandoned plans for a sequel, opting instead to continue the original film canon with Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).