Summary
- Netflix’s Ghostbusters animated series faces a challenge after the disappointment of Frozen Empire.
- An animated show can bring back the lighter, comedic tone of the original movies, refreshing the franchise.
- The TV show has the advantage of creative freedom in depicting ghosts and demons in a more entertaining manner.
The world of Ghostbusters is expanding with an animated TV show for Netflix, which has a big challenge ahead after its disappointing $200 million box office bomb in 2024. The Ghostbusters franchise is one of the most beloved ones in the sci-fi comedy branch thanks to its horror tones while still keeping a light tone and family-friendly approach. Following the trend of reboots, the Ghostbusters franchise was revived in 2021, 32 years after the release of Ghostbusters II. Titled Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the movie introduced the daughter and grandchildren of the late Egon Spengler, who carried on his legacy as a ghostbuster.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife gave closure to the original Ghostbusters team while also setting up a reunion and the formation of a new team with the Spenglers, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), Lucky (Celeste O’Connor), and Podcast (Logan Kim). The box office performance of Ghostbusters: Afterlife led to a sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, in 2024, which saw the new team move to New York City to help the members of the old team. Unfortunately, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire wasn’t the success the studio expected, which is now bringing a big challenge to the upcoming animated Netflix series.
Related
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Ending Explained
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire sees the Ghostbusters up against a chilling new villain. We discuss the film’s biggest moments & what’s next for the team.
Netflix’s Ghostbusters Show Has A Challenge In Making Audiences Excited After Frozen Empire’s Disappointments
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Turned Out To Be A Huge Disappointment
With
Frozen Empire
not properly setting up a sequel, the animated show has the advantage of a bit more creative freedom but also carries the weight of the failure of
Frozen Empire
.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire saw the accidental release of a death-chilling god who unleashed frosty waves across the city, which could freeze people to death. Meanwhile, Phoebe befriended a teenage ghost girl named Melody, who was keeping a dark secret that would become a problem for the Ghostbusters. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire got mixed reviews, but general audiences were a lot more welcoming of it, becoming quite divisive. At the box office, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is considered a flop, grossing over $200 million worldwide against a budget of $100 million.
Now, Netflix has announced an animated Ghostbusters series in association with Sony Pictures Animation. No plot details have been revealed yet, but Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan will serve as executive producers. Given the disappointment of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which had too much going on with different subplots and too many characters, the Ghostbusters animated show has the challenge of making the audience excited about it and regaining their interest.
It’s unknown if Netflix’s Ghostbusters TV show will continue what Afterlife and Frozen Empire have built or will go back to the original team, but with Frozen Empire not properly setting up a sequel, the animated show has the advantage of a bit more creative freedom but also carries the weight of the failure of Frozen Empire.
Netflix’s Ghostbusters TV Show Is The Perfect Direction For The Franchise After The Reboot Movies
The Ghostbusters Franchise Needs A Change
An animated
Ghostbusters
TV show can return to the lighter, more comedic tone of the original movies.
Despite the challenges the Ghostbusters animated TV show is facing, it’s exactly what the franchise needs after the reboot movies. While Ghostbusters: Afterlife didn’t do as badly as Frozen Empire, it did have a more serious and darker tone than the previous movies, which Frozen Empire carried on with. An animated Ghostbusters TV show can return to the lighter, more comedic tone of the original movies, which can be key to regaining the audience’s attention while also appealing to a new and wider variety of audiences.
Netflix’s Ghostbusters animated TV show also has the advantage of the creative liberties an animated format brings, as it doesn’t have to worry about looking realistic. Thanks to this, the Ghostbusters animated TV show can go further with its ghosts, demons, and more, making it a lot more entertaining and appealing than the reboot movies and successfully reviving the franchise.
Source: Netflix.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire continues the story of a new generation of ghost hunters composed of Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Podcast (Logan Kim), who received help from the original team in the previous movie. Paul Rudd returns as Gary Grooberson and franchise co-creator Ivan Reitman returns to write and produce.
- Director
- Gil Kenan
- Release Date
- March 22, 2024
- Runtime
- 115 Minutes