Ghostbusters Ultimate Collection Box Set Only Comes With A Digital Copy Of The 2016 Movie
Sony's upcoming "Ghostbusters" Ultimate Collection box set will include more than its fair share of special features, deleted scenes, and more from the cinematic world of "Ghostbusters," including this year's legacyquel "Ghostbusters: Afterlife." However, the box set has rightly been making headlines for what it doesn't include: a hard copy of director Paul Feig's reboot of the horror-comedy film series, "Ghostbusters: Answer the Call." Now, it seems Sony noticed the outcry and has taken steps to amend things. Sorta.
A newly-unveiled official description for the "Ghostbusters" Ultimate Collection on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray confirms the set will come with digital versions of all four "Ghostbusters" movies released so far: 1984's "Ghostbusters," 1989's "Ghostbusters II," 2016's "Ghostbusters: Answer the Call," and "Ghostbusters: Afterlife." While Sony's attempt to squeeze "Answer the Call" into the set at the last minute was no doubt partly the result of Feig tweeting about the movie being left out, credit should also be given to /Film's BJ Colangelo for writing the article that brought this matter to Feig's attention in the first place.
Why This Matters
BJ did a very thorough job of explaining why "Ghostbusters: Answer the Call" should be included in this box set in her article, enough so that I don't really have anything to add. For those who haven't read it, though, it boils down to this: The term "Ultimate Collection" implies a box set will feature every film ever produced for a specific franchise, regardless of whether those movies all take place in the same universe or have been retconned by sequels that came after them. Quality isn't a disqualifying factor either, not least of all because it's a subjective way of evaluating a film's merits. Whichever way you feel about "Ghostbusters: Answer the Call," it's part of the "Ghostbusters" cinematic universe and ought to come with any so-called "Ultimate" collector's set.
All that being said, it still feels like a slight that the "Ultimate Collection" will only offer a digital copy of "Answer the Call." This only further calls attention to the fact that Sony is trying to slip the film into the set at the eleventh hour and, one assumes, doesn't want to invest the time and money needed to add a Blu-ray version of the movie to the collection. So while it is a correction, it only goes halfway in addressing criticisms that the studio kowtowed to the world's most toxic "Ghostbusters" fans by leaving Feig's reboot out in the first place.
The "Ghostbusters" Ultimate Collection box set arrives on February 1, 2022.