'80s Sequel Was an Instant No. 1 Hit - And it Still Divides Fans, 37 Years Later
On June 16, 1989, Ghostbusters II flew into theaters, hoping to match the highs of the first film.
It was a sequel to one of the biggest hits ever, Ghostbusters, reuniting the original cast of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson.
The film was set five years after the events of the 1984 supernatural comedy film, and while anticipation was high, the film was a box office and critical disappointment, never reaching the massive success of the original.
"After saving New York City from a ghost attack, the Ghostbusters -- a team of spirit exterminators -- is disbanded for demolishing parts of the city during the battle. But when Ghostbuster Peter Venkman learns that spirits have taken an interest in his son, the men launch a rogue ghost-chasing mission. The quest quickly goes awry, landing them in court. But when the ghosts turn on the judge, he issues an order allowing the Ghostbusters to get back to work," the official synopsis for the film reveals.
The film took a more family-friendly approach, leaning into comedy and spectacle rather than the darker tone of the original, while still giving fans plenty of iconic moments, like a river of mood-changing slime under NYC and the Statue of Liberty coming to life and walking through New York.
And though it struggled to match the cultural impact of the original film, it still shot to No. 1 upon its premiere in theaters, with a $29.5 million opening weekend, setting a record at the time for a non-holiday debut. It also set an all-time record for a one-day opening, netting about $10 million on Friday, per the Los Angeles Times.
"It's pretty exciting," Columbia Marketing President Buffy Shutt told the outlet at the time, noting, "I think we expected a big opening. But, it's always a wonderful surprise when you have the biggest three-day gross ever."
Worldwide, it grossed about $215 million on a roughly $37 million budget, finishing as one of the top 10 films of 1989 despite only making half of the original's domestic total.
The film fell out of the top spot quickly after opening due to massive competition from other hit films, including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Lethal Weapon 2, with the summer eventually being dubbed the Summer of Batman.
Even now, 37 years later, it continues to leave behind a mixed legacy, with fans of the franchise deeply divided over it.
A Reddit thread questioned, "Was "Ghostbusters 2" really THAT bad of a movie?" as fans debated, with many pointing at a rushed and uninspired script with a repetitive plot as the biggest flaw.
"No, it's not bad. But it's not a very good sequel. Instead of advancing the story and seeing where things can go, it just retreads the first one. The Ghostbusters are impoverished laughing stocks, they discover a threat, no one believes them, they come together, they save New York, they're hailed as heroes. It reset the end of the first film, and it suffers for that," one comment expressed, adding, "It's fine, but there's no reason to watch it instead of the first one. Compare with something like Back to the Future. Sure, the first one is better than the second, but there's still a reason to watch the second. I want to continue the story. With Ghostbusters, I'm done after the first."
"I don't think it's a bad movie, it just doesn't have the same smart humor as the first," another quipped, as someone else added, "It feels like a kids movie and the 1984 film was a adult movie."
While others said it was a pure nostalgia trip, and many said they would always watch it because they enjoyed it as kids, they didn't gloss over the issues, "I love the movie, always did growing up...but yeah I agree with some of these other comments, the problem with it was that it didn't really add anything to the franchise and was just sort of a retread of the first movie."
Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus notes, "Thanks to the cast, Ghostbusters 2 is reasonably amusing, but it lacks the charm, wit, and energy of its predecessor," holding a 56% Tomatometer rating.
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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 7:03 AM.