Picture: Sony Pictures
A new Ghostbusters movie is Bustin’ its way into theaters for an exclusive period before eventually arriving on streaming, but will that be on Netflix? The answer is yes, but when the movie comes to Netflix will ultimately depend on where you live, with some regions due to get it later this year and others not for a few years.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire serves as the fifth Ghostbusters movie and the sequel to the 2021 movie Afterlife, with much of the main cast returning, whether it be Stranger Thing star Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, and Mckenna Grace. All the OGs are returning, including Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson.
The movie opens in theaters on March 22nd, 2024.
Critics’ reviews haven’t been too kind thus far, with it only having a 44% on RottenTomatoes. Conversely, audience reception seems to have been far kinder, with that score currently trending towards 90%.
Brian Lowry for CNN said that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is “a very busy movie that lacks the emotional hook of its predecessor while spending too much time on the wrong characters in a way that yields a rather lifeless, chilly affair.”
When will Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire be on Netflix US?
Let’s begin in the United States, where the movie will hit the service in 2024. As part of the deal Netflix struck back in 2021, most Sony Pictures releases have come to Netflix in what’s known as the first window.
While the deal doesn’t stipulate the number of days the movie will be exclusive to theaters, we have seen it around 120 days (or four months). That would mean that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire would arrive on Netflix US around July 20th, 2024. However, we have seen some movies arrive slightly later, so it could be in the final week of July or early August instead.
The movie will then be on Netflix through till at least January 2026 where it’ll then jump over to Disney whether that be on Hulu or Disney+ (or both as we suspect will be the case for this movie!).
When will Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire be on Netflix Internationally?
Netflix US isn’t the only region of Netflix that gets Sony Pictures movies in a timely fashion. Netflix in India will receive the movie alongside the US this Summer, and soon after, regions like Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Africa will stream the film.
In late 2024, we expect to see some European territories, such as Germany and the Netherlands, pick up the film alongside Israel.
For those in the United Kingdom, Sky has the first window rights but will come to Netflix UK around 2 years following release, with the same also true for Netflix Canada (~2026).
For all other regions, you’ll likely be waiting several years for the movie to drop off on the service where you live.
Are you going to check out Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire in theaters or wait for it to drop onto Netflix? Let us know in the comments.