Ghostbusters Opens

Setting the scene

Early 1980s comedy was dominated by Saturday Night Live alumni, and special-effects comedies like Gremlins proved audiences would laugh at monsters. Ivan Reitman assembled Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis, who had worked together on SCTV and Stripes. Aykroyd's original script was far wilder and more expensive before Reitman grounded it in New York parapsychology.

What happened

Ghostbusters opened on June 8, 1984, with Murray as Peter Venkman, Aykroyd as Ray Stantz, and Ramis as Egon Spengler hunting ghosts with proton packs. Sigourney Weaver's Dana Barrett was possessed by Zuul as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man marched on Manhattan. Ray Parker Jr.'s theme song Who You Gonna Call topped charts alongside the film's $295 million gross.

Why it still matters

The franchise spawned sequels, cartoons, and video games, and its logo became universal shorthand for paranormal investigation. It showed SNL talent could anchor summer blockbusters. Memorable detail: the Stay Puft creature was filmed with a man in a suit destroying a miniature city, one of the last great practical-effects gags before CGI took over.

Background

SNL talent plus effects comedy produced a chart-topping theme.