10 Horror Franchises That Spectacularly Bounced Back

Ghostbusters is a strange ol' franchise, in that it was universally loved for its first two movies yet somehow remained dormant - in term of films, at least - for a staggering 27 years. Given Hollywood's propensity to milk the teat of any successful property dry, it's somewhat impressive how Sony Pictures, bar a couple of mild flirtations, held off on returning to the cinematic Ghostbusters fold for so long.

Of course, that return would eventually be 2016's Paul Feig-helmed Ghostbusters reboot; a reboot that, despite the best efforts of all involved, just wasn't all that memorable. The story itself was a little too plodding, the humour was hit-and-miss, the scares weren't particularly prevalent, and the end result was a film that was solid but not spectacular.

However, the Ghostbusters franchise was back on song in 2021 as Jason Reitman's Ghostbusters: Afterlife placed Feig's reboot to one side and served as a continuation to the world last seen in 1989's Ghostbusters II. Bringing back the surviving original Ghostbusters faces, introducing the family of Egon Spengler, and throwing in Paul Rudd for good measure, Afterlife was bathed in nostalgia but also brought enough new ideas to the table that it didn't feel like just a lazy cash-in. So much so, the film proved successful enough that a further follow-up, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, is on the way this March.