Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was just released and the results are pretty interesting. The opening of Frozen Empire saw an impressive $45 million domestically. That was 1 million more than 2021’s Afterlife. The curious part is that the Ghostbusters reboot starring Melissa McCarthy opened with $46 million. That film was lambasted by fans because of the all-female cast and made a poor box office of #229.1 million. That’s $25 million more than Afterlife, though the pandemic was still a valid excuse around this time as well.
Frozen Empire can go on to be a massive hit that makes over $500 million worldwide, but given the weak B+ CinemaScore, that’s unlikely the case. The franchise just celebrated a cool milestone that pushed the series over the billion-dollar mark. When you peel back the layers of Ghostbusters though, it doesn’t seem that the franchise is growing all too much. It appears that Ghostbusters is struggling to grow its fanbase despite its family-friendly nature.
Ghostbusters (2016) Did More Harm Than Good
The blind criticism of the all-female Ghostbusters was unwarranted. People made judgments about the film before even watching one second of it. However, there’s nothing particularly good about Paul Feig‘s version either. It’s far from the worst film you’ll ever see and the cast does commit to the roles that they’re given. Ghostbusters just wasn’t funny. It also doesn’t expand the lore that was already established in 1984. In fact, some parts feel the film is trying to pretend that the original doesn’t exist.
Though the backlash from the original fans is a big reason it didn’t make much bank at the box office, the quality is another strong factor as well. Ghostbusters felt like nothing more than a cash cow and the following sequels have felt the same way. It’s no secret that Hollywood is deep into reboots, franchises, and sequels. But the key to this is that they need to feel like they have a purpose for existing. Ghostbusters didn’t beyond the obvious and it was insulting to fans that the studio tried to ignore the original by hitting the same beats with an entirely new cast.
The New Films Are Banking On Nostalgia Too Much
Ghostbusters: Afterlife did a solid job of respecting what came before it, yet still adding new wrinkles to the mythology. The first film had cameos, but the new generation took center stage. It nicely developed the new cast of characters and the cameos didn’t feel cheap or pointless. Afterlife wasn’t perfect because it’s something we’ve seen before in the franchise, but it was a good start for a new beginning. However, Frozen Empire is entirely too reliant on the old cast.
It’s great that Peter, Raymond, and Winston can join the new generation of Ghostbusters, but Frozen Empire has so many characters that they don’t have time to develop any. There’s an interesting angle that challenges the rules of this world, but Frozen Empire doesn’t venture out of the Ghostbusters universe in a way that makes it feel fresh and new. The franchise needed to further establish the new characters first and how the world of Ghostbusters is different in the modern age.
Imagine if executives put Andrew Garfield and Tobey McGuire in the second Spider-Man film. It wouldn’t have allowed audiences to grow with Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man, which has turned out to be a bankable franchise without relying on the nostalgia factor. No Way Home was an event film that felt earned. The new Ghostbusters should’ve taken that route with the new and old cast reuniting for a huge threat that they can’t beat alone.
Ghostbusters Wasn’t Family Friendly In The Beginning
Going back to franchises feeling like cash cows, Afterlife and Frozen Empire had that stink on it. The big reason is that it’s geared towards families/kids. Don’t be fooled by the PG rating of the 1984 original, Ghostbusters had blatant sexual innuendo, a ton of crass language, and there’s even a ghostly sex scene! The original played more to teenagers and adults, not kids.
That isn’t to say that the modern Ghostbusters is bad because it’s geared towards families and kids. However, the shift in tone has certainly turned off some fans because that’s not the original Ghostbusters that they remember. It was a balls-to-the-wall sci-fi/action-adventure that wasn’t afraid of being crass or crude.
The current versions are PG-13, but they’ve been stripped of all of the adult humor that made the original such a hit. In fact, these modern films are more PG than the original first two. There’s no telling what the future holds for Ghostbusters. As I stated previously, Frozen Empire could end up having long legs at the box office and make a huge profit. It’s alarming though that the franchise hasn’t grown all that much financially. If it does underwhelm at the box office then maybe it’s time to reconsider moving forward with this as a long-term series.
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