Dorri Partain
Contributor

Who you gonna call, when you want to decorate your wall? Ghostbusters!
Movie posters have long been an easy way to cover empty walls or as a memento of a favorite movie, despite this warning printed on the poster in small print:

“Property of National Screen Service Corporation. Licensed only for use only in connection with the exhibition of this picture at the theatre licensing the material. Licensee agrees not to trade, sell or give away, or permit others to use it, nor shall Licensee be entitled to any credit upon the return of the material. This material either must be returned or destroyed immediately after use.”

Produced specifically to promote either upcoming movie releases or features currently showing, movie goers could gain a lot of information with posters that list the major actors, director, producer, movie studio, screen writers, soundtrack and more.

Measuring 27 by 41 inches and lithographed in the USA, this poster promotes the 1984 theatrical release of Ghostbusters, starring Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis, with the screenplay written by Ackroyd and Ramis.

Following the opening on June 8, the film was the number one feature in theaters across America for the next seven weeks, with a box office total of $295.2 million, at 1984 prices.

The film’s theme song, recorded by Ray Parker, Jr. was also a number one hit.

By the following year, kids could eat Ghostbusters cereal ( fruit-flavored O’s with marshmallow ghosts), drink Hi-C Ecto Cooler ( a bright green citrus-flavored juice drink) while watching “The Real Ghostbusters” cartoon series on the ABC television network.

A sequel, Ghostbusters II, was released in 1989, but the box office and reviews didn’t meet the success of the original. A reboot Ghostbusters feature with all new cast members was released in 2016, but again did not match the success of the original. The next sequel, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was released in November 2021 and was directed by original director Ivan Reitman’s son Jason.