10 Movies That Pissed People Off Before They Even Released
6. Ghostbusters
It can be a dangerous game to delve into franchises that have developed very passionate and outspoken fanbases over a number of years, and possibly even decades. Take Ghostbusters as a prime example, and the backlash Paul Feig's 2016 reboot received.
Two years before Ocean's 8 produced an all-female-led entry into the franchise, Ghostbusters did the same. Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones took on the roles of the titular Ghostbusters, with Chris Hemsworth in the supporting role of Kevin. This unfortunately continued the upsetting and depressing trend of almost anything female-led being met with harsh and baseless criticism before the film ever released.
The likes of Star Wars' The Acolyte, and the MCU's Ms. Marvel have been victims of review bombing in recent years, and in 2016, the Ghostbusters trailer became the most disliked trailer in YouTube history. This was based on nothing more than the fact that it was being led by four women.
Yes, the film was certainly not exempt from criticism upon its release, but there is a big difference between forming an opinion after watching something and writing it off completely due to the gender of its main characters. Director Paul Feig even addressed the initial reception, calling the outcry at the initial announcement "vile, misogynistic s**t".