Ghostbusters II Pitch Meeting

As the franchise enjoys new life with modern sequels, Screen Rant‘s own Pitch Meeting series has gone back in time to look at Ghostbusters II. The 1989 supernatural comedy reteamed Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, Sigourney Weaver and Ivan Reitman to pit the titular paranormal investigators against a new ghostly threat on New York City. Unlike its predecessor, Ghostbusters II was largely dismissed by critics and only a modest box office success, grossing just over $215 million against its reported $40 million production budget.

Just ahead of the movie’s 35th anniversary, the latest episode of Screen Rant‘s Pitch Meeting series has set its sights on Ghostbusters II. The video, as seen at the top of this article, pokes fun at the problems of the 1989 sequel, namely its repetition of the original movie’s formula and explaining away the titular team’s heroism in the predecessor as having been forgotten by the city. The episode also mocks the movie’s various plot conveniences and unexplained story developments, all of which ultimately hurt its legacy.

Ghostbusters II’s BTS Problems Doomed The Movie

Though still generally enjoyed by longtime fans of the franchise, there’s no denying that Ghostbusters II marked an unfortunate low for the movie series. Sitting at a 55% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the sequel is the second-worst installment in the franchise, only sitting just ahead of the newly released Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, while its box office sits right in the middle of all five movies. See how the 1989 sequel compares to the other installments below:

While a general diminishing returns could be cited as the reason behind the movie’s underperformance, Ghostbusters II‘s disappointing legacy can ultimately be chalked up to its various behind-the-scenes problems. Despite the original movie proving to be a hit, many of the cast were reluctant to take part in a sequel, while Ramis and Aykroyd had trouble landing a final script for it, going through constant rewrites. Even once production began, it was rushed and underwent extensive reshoots after terrible test screenings.

Critics weren’t the only ones who took issue with Ghostbusters II. Murray memorably spoke out against the sequel shortly before his return in Ghostbusters: Afterlife was released, lamenting that the 1989 movie felt more like it was made “just to make money” and recalling that the story pitched to him and others was not what was ultimately made. Aykroyd himself has previously confirmed that the original script was very different, but also “too inaccessible“. With these BTS changes and inconsistent visions, it’s clear that Ghostbusters II was largely doomed to underwhelm.

Source: Pitch Meeting