GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE - The Popcorn Junkies Movie Review (SPOILERS)

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a 2024 American supernatural comedy film directed by Gil Kenan from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jason Reitman. It is the sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and the fifth film in the Ghostbusters franchise. The film stars Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O'Connor, and Logan Kim reprising their roles from Afterlife, alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and William Atherton reprising their characters from the earlier films. Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, and James Acaster also join the cast. Set two years after the events of Afterlife, the veteran Ghostbusters must join forces with their new recruits to save the world in New York City from a death-chilling god who seeks to build a spectral army. Following the success of Afterlife, Sony Pictures announced the sequel in April 2022, with Reitman returning as director. Co-writer and executive producer Kenan later took over as director from Reitman that December, with the latter staying on as a co-writer and co-producer. That same month, Rudd, Coon, Grace, Wolfhard, O'Connor, Kim, Murray, Aykroyd, Hudson, Potts, and Atherton were all confirmed to reprise their roles. New cast members including Nanjiani, Oswalt, Lind, and Acaster were announced in March 2023, with principal photography commencing that month and wrapping in June. Dario Marianelli was hired to compose and conduct the film's score, replacing Afterlife composer Rob Simonsen. This is the first film in the Ghostbusters franchise to be released following the death of the franchise's co-creator and Jason Reitman's father Ivan Reitman, who posthumously receives credit as a producer alongside his son and Jason Blumenfeld. Additionally, the film is dedicated to Ivan's memory and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first film. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire had its world premiere at the AMC 13 Theater at Lincoln Square in New York City on March 14, 2024, and was released in the United States on March 22, by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label. The film received mixed reviews from critics