Summary

• Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 is guaranteed to push the franchise over the $1 billion mark, as the previous four movies have earned $944.4 million at the box office.
• The success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife indicates that the sequel has the potential to sur its predecessor and reach the $300 million range in box office earnings.
• While the post-pandemic streaming landscape may affect theatrical performance, with just $55.4 million needed, it's certain that Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 will push the franchise well over the $1 billion mark.

The the Ghostbusters franchise maintained a strong presence on various animated TV shows and video games but struggled to make its way back to the big-screen. Ghostbusters was eventually rebooted cinematically with 2016's female-led Ghostbusters, but the movie was an unfortunate box office disappointment, leading to the development of 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Acting as a legacy sequel to the first two Ghostbusters films, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was just what the franchise needed to get rolling again. Ghostbusters: Afterlife even saw Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson return in ing roles, with the late Harold Ramis recreated as a CGI ghost in the ending of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The success of Ghostbusters: Afterlife led to Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 being greenlit, and with the franchise's total box office earnings to date, the next installment will finally push it over a major tipping point.

Ghostbusters Will Finally Become A $1 Billion Franchise With Afterlife 2

To date, the four theatrically released Ghostbusters movies have earned $944.4 million at the box office, putting the franchise very close to the $1 billion mark. The original Ghostbusters was one of the most successful movies made in its day, earning $295.5 million, with Ghostbusters 2, the 2016 Ghostbusters, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife each earning $215.4 million, $229.1 million, and $204.4 million respectively. This means that Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 will most assuredly make Ghostbusters a $1 billion franchise, with the movie only needing to earn about $55.6 million to reach that goal.

To be sure, when factoring inflation into the equation, the Ghostbusters franchise would already have technically made $1 billion with its cumulative earnings. Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 is simply tasked with getting it over the elusive $1 billion mark. All of that simply begs the question of how successful Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 will end up being for the series.

How Much Money Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 Could Make At The Box Office

Ghostbusters: Afterlife's $204 million total makes Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 earning at least $55.4 million a foregone conclusion, but with no Ghostbusters movie earning less than $200 million, its box office total surely will not stop there. With the strong reception of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 could potentially end up greatly suring its predecessor and land more in the $300 million range. Even simply matching its predecessor's $204 million box office haul would allow Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 to take the series over the $1 billion line, especially with the exciting teases in Ghostbusters: Afterlife possibly setting it up for success.

Of course, the theatrical moviegoing landscape has also changed dramatically in the post-pandemic world, with streaming options becoming bigger than ever, which could impact how well Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 performs. Still, with only $55.4 million standing between the Ghostbusters franchise and the $1 billion mark, the writing is on the wall. With Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2, it's not a matter of whether the Ghostbusters franchise hits $1 billion, but how far over that number it'll ultimately go.