The film's success spawned the Ghostbusters franchise, comprising animated television shows, film sequels, and reboot.[236] Ghostbusters was followed by the 1986 animated television series The Real Ghostbusters. It ran for 140 episodes over seven seasons across six years, and itself spawned a spin-off Slimer-centric sub-series, comic books, and merchandise. It was followed by a sequel series, 1997's Extreme Ghostbusters.[236][237] A film sequel, Ghostbusters II, was released in 1989. Despite breaking box office records and attracting an estimated two million more people to its opening than Ghostbusters, the sequel earned less than the original and received a less enthusiastic response.[238][239] Even so, the popularity of the actors and characters led to discussion of a third film.[239] The concept failed to progress for many years because Murray was reluctant to participate. In a 2009 interview, he said:
We did [Ghostbusters II] and it was sort of rather unsatisfying for me, because the first one to me was ... the real thing. And the sequel ... They’d written a whole different movie than the one [initially discussed] ... so there's never been an interest in a third Ghostbusters, because the second one was disappointing ... for me, anyway.[240]
Aykroyd pursued a sequel through to the early 2010s.[239] Ghostbusters: The Video Game was released in 2009, featuring narrative contributions from Ramis and Aykroyd, and voice acting by Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, Hudson, Potts, and Atherton. Set two years after Ghostbusters II, the story follows the Ghostbusters training a recruit (the player) to combat a ghostly threat related to Gozer. The game was well-received, earning award nominations for its storytelling. Aykroyd has referred to the game as being "essentially the third movie".[239][241] Ghostbusters: The Return (2004) was the first in a planned series of sequel novels before the publisher went out of business. Several Ghostbusters comic books have continued the original group's adventures across the globe and other dimensions.[143][242]
Following Ramis's death in 2014, Reitman determined the creative control shared by himself, Ramis, Aykroyd, and Murray was holding the franchise back and negotiated a deal to sell the rights to Columbia; he spent two weeks convincing Murray. Reitman refused to detail the deal but said "the creators would be enriched for the rest of our lives, and for the rest of our children's lives". He and Aykroyd founded Ghost Corps, a production company dedicated to expanding the franchise, starting with the 2016 female-led reboot Ghostbusters (later retitled Ghostbusters: Answer the Call).[s] Before its release, the reboot was beset by controversies. After its release, it was considered a box-office bomb with mixed reviews.[t] The franchise returned to the original two films with the sequels, Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), directed by Reitman's son Jason, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024).[251][252]
