On June 8, 1984, Columbia Pictures released a movie the likes of which Hollywood and audiences had never seen before: an unlikely concoction of horror frights, spooky villains, action and laugh-out-loud comedy. With all these disparate elements, Ghostbusters, starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson, was all but destined to fail. Instead, the supernatural comedy (a term coined specifically for the film) became a blockbuster success—and more.
The movie left an indelible mark on popular culture, produced a theme song that was a No. 1 hit and perpetual earworm, cemented Murray’s standing as a comedic genius, helped change Hollywood by codifying the “film franchise” as a business model, and had the studio execs begging for more. But filmmakers found that recapturing movie magic is an enterprise as…
