If you’ve been sensing something strange in the neighborhood lately, you’d be right, because the new Ghostbusters movie, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, is coming to theaters this weekend.
Unlike the 2016 reboot starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon, this fourth installment in the Ghostbuster franchise will serve as a direct sequel to the original movies that came out in the ’80s. Directed by Jason Reitman, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is set 30 years after the events of Ghostbusters II, and features a new generation of spectral experts: Siblings Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard). When Phoebe and Trevor start experiencing, well, something strange in the neighborhood, they discover their connection to the original ghostbusters via their late grandfather.
Featuring appearances from the OG busters Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is sure to be a treat for fans. Here’s where to watch Ghostbusters: Afterlife and when you can expect Ghostbusters: Afterlife on streaming.
Considering this is one of the most-anticipated movies of the year, this guide will let you know how you can watch Ghostbusters: Afterlife, if it’s any good, and much more.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife release date
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is one of several Hollywood blockbusters to be hit by delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but the film is finally heading to UK cinemas on Thursday 18th November 2021.
The film was originally scheduled for 10th July 2020, but was pushed back to 5th March 2021 as the spread of the illness caused cinemas around the world to temporarily close their doors.
Following another spike in cases at the start of the year, Afterlife was pushed a second time to a date of 12th November, before one final delay – thankfully just one more week this time.
Is Ghostbusters: Afterlife Available to Watch on Streaming?
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is not currently available to watch on streaming, but bookmark this page, because we’ll update this space with streaming details when they’re announced.
While some competitor studios including Warner Bros., Disney, and Paramount have embraced the hybrid streaming and theatrical release strategy in 2021, Sony has mostly maintained exclusive theatrical releases for their major titles, including Afterlife. The film arrives in theaters only on November 19, and based on Sony’s recent release models, it’s probably going to be a while before it arrives on streaming.
Sony is also an outlier among most of the major studios these days because they don’t have an in-house streaming service, which means they’ve been able to sign some major streaming distribution deals for their films. Right now, Sony is in the last stretch of a 2017-2021 first-pay window deal with Starz (Netflix takes over that window in 2022), which means that when Ghostbusters: Afterlife arrives on streaming, it will probably be on Starz first.
Where You Can Watch Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Sony remains committed to an old school theatrical window and as such, Ghostbusters: Afterlife will only be available to watch in theaters.
“I don’t think we’ll be in the day-and-date release business,” studio CEO Tony Vinciquerra said last December. “I think the economic model for very big budget movies require the windows that are in the flow now and will continue with that. I think every film released will have an individual negotiation with the exhibitors, but look, we think a 30-day window is probably the best. It’ll allow us to advertise our marketing over the two windows, theatrical and home entertainment. So we think that’s the way to go.”
A crowd of lucky fans got to check out the movie earlier this month when the project held its world premiere at New York Comic Con (SYFY WIRE was in the audience, but you won’t be getting any spoilers out of us!).
“Man, it’s been a while since we started making this film, and you all are the most patient fans on Earth. But frankly, my father and I think you’ve waited long enough,” said Jason Reitman during the discussion that preceded the exclusive screening.
Where to Watch Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be released exclusively in theaters, meaning there will be no day-and-date release on any streaming platform.
Will Ghostbusters: Afterlife Be on Netflix?
Currently, there is no confirmation as to whether or not Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be on Netflix, but as no other part of the Ghostbusters franchise has made it to the popular streaming service, our guess is that this won’t be the case.
Will Ghostbusters: Afterlife Be on Amazon Prime Video?
While the Ghostbusters movies and tv series aren’t free on Amazon Prime Video, you can rent or purchase them. To give you a general idea, the 1984 original can be rented at $3.99 or bought at $7.99. This is a good indication that Ghostbusters: Afterlife will get the same treatment eventually.
Will Ghostbusters: Afterlife Be on Disney Plus?
Disney Plus is your go-to if you’re looking to stream any Disney film as well as anything from Pixar, the Avengers franchise, the Star Wars Empire, and so on. The Ghostbusters franchise doesn’t belong to Disney so we don’t expect Afterlife to make it to Disney Plus, unfortunately.
Will Ghostbusters: Afterlife Be on HBO Max?
Due to a Warner Bros. strategy during Covid, Ghostbusters: Afterlife might be on HBO Max exclusively for just one month before moving to movie theaters only. This is not yet confirmed yet, and it might as well stop if things are relatively normal by then, but if you’re an HBO Max subscriber, you might want to watch out for that.
What Is Ghostbusters: Afterlife?
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is set in the small town of Summerville, Oklahoma, and tells the story of Carrie Coon’s Callie, a single mom who left Chicago with her two children after hearing of her long-estranged father’s passing — a father she never even knew. When they settle in their new home, they quickly discover they are connected to a team of paranormal investigators named the Ghostbusters and that their father/grandfather may have been one of its key members.
As supernatural phenomena begin to occur, the family and their friends must solve a mystery linked to the relocation of their father/grandfather and use the equipment made famous by the Ghostbusters to save the town and possibly the world.
Directed by Jason Reitman, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a follow-up to the events from 1984’s Ghostbusters and 1989’s Ghostbusters 2, which were both directed by Jason’s father Ivan Reitman.
“I’ve always thought of myself as the first Ghostbusters fan, when I was a 6-year-old visiting the set,” Jason said in an interview with EW. “I wanted to make a movie for all the other fans. This is the next chapter in the original franchise. It is not a reboot. What happened in the ’80s happened in the ’80s, and this is set in the present day.”
