ⓘ Details

Movie TitleGhostbusters

Release DateJune 8, 1984 in the United States and Canada

TaglineNo spook, specter, or haunt will ever be safe again.

Runtime105 minutes / 1 hour 45 minutes

DirectorIvan Reitman

Screenplay Written ByDan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis

Based OnOriginal supernatural comedy concept by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis

Is It a Remake?No. It is an original supernatural comedy and the first film in the Ghostbusters franchise.

BudgetApproximately $30 million

Box OfficeApprox. $243.6 million domestic / approx. $296.6 million worldwide in original reported totals

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👥 Main Cast

Bill MurrayDr. Peter Venkman

Dan AykroydDr. Raymond Stantz

Harold RamisDr. Egon Spengler

Sigourney WeaverDana Barrett

Rick MoranisLouis Tully

Annie PottsJanine Melnitz

Ernie HudsonWinston Zeddemore

William AthertonWalter Peck

David MarguliesMayor Lenny

Slavitza JovanGozer

Peter MacNicolDr. Janosz Poha, voice

Michael EnsignHotel Manager

Alice DrummondLibrarian

Jennifer RunyonStudent

Reginald VelJohnsonJail Guard

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🏆 Awards

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Original Song, “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr.

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Visual Effects

⭐ Golden Globe Nominee — Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

⭐ Golden Globe Nominee — Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, Bill Murray

⭐ Golden Globe Nominee — Best Original Song, “Ghostbusters”

⭐ BAFTA Nominee — Best Special Visual Effects

⭐ Grammy Winner — Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the Ghostbusters theme

⭐ Saturn Award Winner — Best Fantasy Film

⭐ Library of Congress — Selected for the National Film Registry in 2015

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📖 Short Plot Summary

After losing their university jobs, paranormal researchers Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler turn ghost-catching into a business, complete with a firehouse headquarters, proton packs, questionable safety practices, and the best logo in supernatural extermination. As business booms across New York City, cellist Dana Barrett becomes tied to an ancient Sumerian threat named Gozer, and the Ghostbusters must stop a rooftop apocalypse involving terror dogs, Zuul, Vinz Clortho, and a giant marshmallow sailor. Ghostbusters is a comedy, a monster movie, a workplace story, and one of the most quotable supernatural exterminator commercials ever made.

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❝ Key Quotes

“Back off, man. I’m a scientist.” — Peter Venkman

“We came. We saw. We kicked its ass!” — Peter Venkman

“Ray, when someone asks you if you’re a god, you say yes!” — Winston Zeddemore

“Don’t cross the streams.” — Egon Spengler

“There is no Dana, only Zuul.” — Dana Barrett / Zuul

“I collect spores, molds, and fungus.” — Egon Spengler

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💡 Trivia

Director

Ghostbusters was directed and produced by Ivan Reitman.
The screenplay was written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.
Aykroyd’s original concept was much larger and more fantastical, involving teams of Ghostbusters across dimensions and time periods.
Reitman helped steer the story into a more grounded New York comedy about working guys running a paranormal business.
The movie’s genius is that everyone treats ghost extermination like a startup, which is exactly why it still works.

Cast / Casting

Bill Murray plays Peter Venkman, giving the movie its sarcastic, deadpan center.
Dan Aykroyd plays Ray Stantz, the enthusiastic believer and gearhead of the group.
Harold Ramis plays Egon Spengler, although he originally intended only to co-write the film before deciding he was right for the role.
Ernie Hudson plays Winston Zeddemore, the everyman who joins the team after the business takes off.
Sigourney Weaver plays Dana Barrett, whose apartment building becomes ground zero for Gozer’s return.
Rick Moranis nearly steals every scene as Louis Tully, the accountant neighbor who turns a party into the saddest networking event in New York.

Soundtrack / Score

Elmer Bernstein composed the film’s score.
Ray Parker Jr. performed the hit theme song “Ghostbusters.”
The theme song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984.
The song earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
The soundtrack helped turn the movie into a pop-culture event, because if your supernatural comedy has a theme song everyone can yell at a party, you have already won half the battle.

Location

The story is set in New York City.
The firehouse exterior used for Ghostbusters headquarters is Hook & Ladder Company 8 in Tribeca.
The New York Public Library appears in the opening ghost encounter.
Columbia University stands in for the university where the Ghostbusters work before getting fired.
The rooftop temple scenes were built for the film, but the real-world apartment building exterior helped make the supernatural insanity feel weirdly believable.

Behind-The-Scenes

The film was produced by Ivan Reitman and released by Columbia Pictures.
The reported production budget was approximately $30 million.
Box Office Mojo lists the film’s original domestic opening at about $13.6 million and its original worldwide gross at about $296.6 million.
Including later re-releases, the film’s worldwide total has been reported at about $370 million.
The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was designed as the most absurd possible form for the destroyer of worlds to take.
The film opened the same weekend as Gremlins, making June 8, 1984 a ridiculous day for supernatural comedy chaos.

Nostalgia

Ghostbusters became one of the defining comedies of the 1980s.
The logo, theme song, proton packs, Ecto-1, jumpsuits, Slimer, and Stay Puft all became instantly recognizable pop-culture icons.
The film launched a franchise that included sequels, animated series, toys, video games, comics, and later legacy films.
It is one of those movies that feels like a comedy, a sci-fi movie, a horror spoof, and a New York workplace comedy all fighting over the same proton pack.
For a lot of fans, this is still the perfect balance of smart jokes, weird ghosts, deadpan Bill Murray, and just enough nightmare fuel for the kids watching on cable.

Easter Eggs

Slimer was referred to behind the scenes as Onionhead and was later associated with John Belushi’s spirit by cast and crew lore.
The phone number used in early marketing connected callers to a recorded message from Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.
The “no ghost” logo was heavily used in marketing before release and became famous even before many people knew the movie’s title.
Reginald VelJohnson appears as a jail guard before becoming widely known for Die Hard and Family Matters.
Gozer asking the Ghostbusters to choose the form of the destructor turns Ray’s innocent childhood memory into the world’s worst marshmallow craving.
The “don’t cross the streams” rule turns into the final solution, proving that in movies, the one thing you were told never to do will absolutely be required by act three.

Misc.

Ghostbusters is rated PG.
The movie runs 105 minutes.
The film was released on June 8, 1984.
It was the second-highest-grossing film at the 1984 worldwide box office, behind Beverly Hills Cop.
The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song and Best Visual Effects.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists Ghostbusters as Episode 8, with Don rating it 4.75, Ken rating it 4.75, Jon rating it 5.00, and an overall rating of 4.83.

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