How to Watch the ‘Ghostbusters’ Movies in Order

Follow the careers of a team of ghost-busting scientists, and their eventual inheritors, with the full filmography

By
Rob Rich
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Rob Rich
News Reporter
  • College for Creative Studies
Rob is a freelance tech reporter with experience writing for a variety of outlets, including IGN, Unwinnable, 148Apps, Gamezebo, Pocket Gamer, Fanbolt, Zam, and more.
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Published on May 16, 2024

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This list covers all of the feature films in the Ghostbusters franchise that have been released so far, with a couple of watch order suggestions with very slight differences between them.

If you want to view all of the Ghostbusters films in one place, you’ll need to budget for it. Currently no one subscription-based streaming service offers every single title, but you can rent (or buy) them all digitally from singular sources.

Watching 'Ghostbusters' in Release Order

While a daunting amount of Ghostbusters media is available—including movies, TV shows, comics, and video games—the filmography is manageable. Despite being such a beloved franchise, you’re looking at a grand total of five movies that you’ll need to watch to catch up with the franchise. Arguably four, but we’ll get to that.

While not all of the movies are available on streaming platforms, you can rent or buy them from storefronts like Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.

 Entry  Release  Where to Watch
 Ghostbusters  1984 Tubi
 Ghostbusters II  1989 Rent or buy
 Ghostbusters  2016 Tubi
 Ghostbusters: Afterlife  2021 • Fubo
• Sling TV
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire  2024 Rent or buy

Don’t let the number of sequels (compared to some other prolific franchises like Star Wars or Alien) fool you. If you want to sit down and watch all five films back-to-back for their full runtimes, you’re going to need to set aside nine hours and 29 minutes of your day. Or seven hours and 32 minutes if you decide to skip the standalone 2016 reboot.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire movie promo artwork

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc

How to Watch the 'Ghostbusters' Franchise Chronologically

Watching all of the Ghostbusters films in chronological order isn’t all that different from going in order of release, as the overarching story progresses linearly along with each new film.

The 2016 reboot doesn’t have to end up in any particular spot, so you can watch it first, last, somewhere in the middle, or not at all. If you do include it, you should watch the original 1984 film before the 2016 version so that some of the nods and in-jokes make sense.

 Entry  Release  Where to Watch
 Ghostbusters  1984 Tubi
 Ghostbusters II  1989 Rent or buy
 Ghostbusters (optional)  2016 Tubi
 Ghostbusters: Afterlife  2021 • Fubo
• Sling TV
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire  2024 Rent or buy

Is “Ghostbusters 2016” Connected to the Other Films?

For all intents and purposes, 2016’s Ghostbusters is a wholly separate entity from the rest of the franchise.

Aside from some Easter eggs and references sprinkled throughout the film, it does not tie into any of the older or newer entries story-wise. The overarching narrative is similar in that scientists are working together to “bust” ghosts, but the story is different (although many of the original actors do appear as other people). You can think of it as an alternate version of the story, like Batman Begins is to the original 1989 Batman.

Likewise, 2021’s Afterlife and its sequel, Frozen Empire, are not connected to the 2016 film.

promotional photo of the Ghostbusters 2016 cast with green background

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc
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