Ghostbusters (2016 film)

Ghostbusters (also marketed 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, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Chris Hemsworth, it is a reboot of the 1984 film and the third film in the Ghostbusters franchise. The story focuses on four eccentric women who start a ghost-catching business in New York City after a paranormal encounter.

A third Ghostbusters film had been in various stages of development following the release of Ghostbusters II in 1989. Because of original cast member Bill Murray's refusal to commit to the project, and the death of fellow cast member Harold Ramis in 2014, Sony Pictures decided to reboot the series instead. Some of the original film's cast members and their family members make cameo appearances 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 and an internet backlash, leading to the film's IMDb page and associated YouTube videos receiving low ratings before the film's release.

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. 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).