Ghostbusters (franchise)

Infobox Media franchise | title = Ghostbusters | image = Ghostbusters (official logo).svg | image_size = 200px | caption = Official franchise logo | creator = Dan Aykroyd Harold Ramis | origin = Ghostbusters (1984) | owner = | years = 1984–present | books = | novels = | comics = Series history | magazines = | strips = | films = | tv = | video_games = List of video games | music = The Ghostbusters franchise consists of American supernatural comedies, based on an original concept created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis in 1984. The plot ostensibly centers around a group of eccentric New York City parapsychologists who investigate, encounter, and capture ghosts, paranormal manifestations, demigods and demons. The franchise expanded with licensed action figures, books, comic books, video games, television series, theme park attractions, and other original Ghostbusters-themed products. The Ghostbusters use a specialized set of equipment in the 1984 film, and all subsequent Ghostbusters fiction includes similar equipment to aid in the capture and containment of ghosts. Their equipment includes proton packs, used to control and lasso ghosts; ghost traps, used to capture ghosts; and PKE meters, handheld devices used to detect psychokinetic energy. In addition to the main technology used in the series, a script draft for Ghostbusters III includes the Ghostbusters developing a machine to transport themselves to an alternate Manhattan to save New York. Ectomobile Ghostbusters Ghostbusters, the first film in the series, is a 1984 sci-fi comedy film about three New York City scientists. After they are fired from Columbia University, they start their own business investigating and capturing ghosts. Starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson, it was released in the United States on June 8, 1984. It had been made on a budget, but it grossed approximately in the United States and over abroad during its theatrical run, more than the domestic gross of the second Indiana Jones installment, making it the most successful film in America that year (after re-releases), and one of the most successful comedies of the 1980s.