Watch Order (Release = Chronological)Recommended
0 / 5 watchedThe five films in release order, which is also the story order. The 2016 film is a standalone detour.
The originals
- 1 Ghostbusters
- 2 Ghostbusters II Still canon. Afterlife carries it forward through details like Ray's Occult bookshop.
The 2016 reboot
- 3 Ghostbusters: Answer the Call A reboot in a separate universe with a new team. The later films ignore it.
The Afterlife era
- 4 Ghostbusters: Afterlife Direct sequel to the original two. Follows Egon Spengler's grandchildren in Oklahoma.
- 5 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Latest released film. The Spenglers return to the New York firehouse. Released March 22, 2024.
About Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters grew from one 1984 comedy about four paranormal exterminators in New York into a five-film series. The original pair follows Peter, Ray, Egon and Winston from their firehouse startup through a second supernatural crisis five years later.
The 2016 film reboots the premise with a new team in its own universe. Afterlife (2021) and Frozen Empire (2024) ignore that reboot and continue the original story through Egon Spengler's grandchildren. Release order is the story order, so one list covers both.
Good to know
Canon status, plainly: Ghostbusters II counts. Director Jason Reitman confirmed it, pointing to details like Ray's Occult bookshop and the Ghostbusters II logo repainted on the Ecto-1. Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016) sits outside that continuity in a separate universe. Sony bundles it with the others in collections, which causes the confusion.
This guide covers films only. The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991) and Extreme Ghostbusters (1997) are optional. The next announced entry is the animated series Ghostbusters: Night Shift, set in 1994 and dated for Netflix in 2027.
