Key Takeaways:
• Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire received a low 44% Tomatometer score but enjoyed an 85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
• The film is a sequel to 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife and the fifth in the series.
• Fans praised Bill Murray and new recruit Paul Rudd for their performances.
• Past Ghostbusters films also saw discrepancies between critics’ and audience scores, with audience scores often higher.
• The film’s situation is reminiscent of Zack Snyder’s cinematic reception, where audience scores exceed critics’ evaluation.
After the world premiere of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire at the AMC 13 theater in New York, the film’s critical reception was less than stellar. Produced as the fifth entry to the iconic franchise, it serves as a sequel to 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife. However, the fan response, contrastingly, points to a different perspective on the film’s overall delivery and substance.
Audience Praises Frozen Empire
The film performance remarkably brought to life by veterans like Bill Murray and newer additions like Paul Rudd, won over the fans. The audience score release stirred a wave of support for the film’s cast and crew, even calling critics out for their harsh reviews. Upon the release of the audience score, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire received an astounding 85% rating, which contradicts the meager 44% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes – almost doubling the critics’ rating.
Responding to the audience scores, fans openly expressed their shock at the critical backlash and stood up in defense of the film’s entertainment value. They took to social media platforms to share their glowing reviews and confoundments at the critics’ assessments, relishing the film’s franchise characteristics while highlighting its overall fun quotient.
The Ghostbusters Film Franchise Score Discrepancies
Despite notably low critic scores, Ghostbusters fans show unfaltering loyalty towards the franchise. It isn’t the first time that a Ghostbusters film has experienced a stark contrast between audience and critics scores. For instance, the 1989 second film in the franchise received a 55% critics’ score with a somewhat close audience score of 61%. Out of all the installments, Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) and the original Ghostbusters received the highest audience scores at 94% and 88% respectively.
Zack Snyder’s Films Draw a Tangible Parallel
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s reception mirrors Zack Snyder’s films in an intriguing way. Snyder’s highest-grossing films like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice received low critics’ scores but were still soundly appreciated by audiences – a sentiment that Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire beautifully replicates. This trend hints at the current scrutiny that films face from critics, regardless of franchise popularity, but ultimately it’s the audience that continues to root for their beloved series.
The Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s fate and potential sequels will undoubtedly hinge upon the film’s overall theatrical performance. Currently, the latest Ghostbusters installment continues its run in theaters while other films from the franchise are available for streaming on AMC+. Despite mixed-to-negative critical reception, the resounding audience approval can’t be ignored, once again reflecting the profound gap between critical assessment and public sentiment within the film industry.
