Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire | 2024 | PG-13 | – 2.5.4

Why is “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “supernatural action/violence, language and suggestive references.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes some sexual references, a kiss on the cheek, many scenes of peril when people encounter ghosts and spirits that cause damage in a city, a scene with many people frozen and presumably dead with one man’s hand broken off his arm at the wrist, many arguments and discussions of responsibility, and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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When a powerful force is unleashed on the planet and is determined to free contained spirits in order to wreak havoc, the team of Ghostbusters, which includes a new generation, comes to the rescue, along with the original crew. With Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, Emily Alyn Lind, James Acaster, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts. Directed by Gil Kenan. A few lines of dialogue are spoken by a ghost in an unintelligible language and a deep voice without translation. [Running Time: 1:55]

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A teen girl kisses a teen boy on the cheek.
► A man says to a woman, “We both got some action,” and they fist-bump each other while a teen boy complains about what they are saying. People are shown a secret room where there are what seems to be weapons and armor, a teen girl asks if it is a “sex dungeon” and a few other sexual references are made. A teen sees a painting of a topless woman and says, “Nipple stuff.” People wear swimsuits in a beach scene and cleavage, bare abdomens, backs and legs are seen. A teen ghost wears a cropped top that reveals her cleavage and bare abdomen.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – Firefighters in 1904 New York City report to a building where smoke appears to be seeping through doors; one firefighter touches the door and exclaims that it is freezing as his hand is covered with ice and he screams; the door is broken open and we see many people inside frozen in place and one man’s hand is snapped off at the wrist (no blood is evident), and the other people’s heads explode into frozen debris (no blood or matter is shown). A man in a shop is sprayed with ice and later falls to the floor and shatters. Ice spikes surround several people and they are each frozen in place; one teen girl is shown with an ice spike pointed at her throat. A giant being is struck with a proton blast and a couple of fireballs; a laser rope is wrapped around it, it yells and drawn into a hole in the ground that then closes.
► A teen girl goes into a containment chamber where her spirit is separated from her body; we see flashes and she screams and collapses unconscious as we see a glowing (ghost) version of her outside the chamber, she speaks to another ghost, the first ghost’s eyes glow brightly, and she speaks in an unknown language as she moves toward an orb that spins around and falls apart releasing a black mist that transforms into a giant being that pushes large horns into the sides of its head (it has very long pointed nails, giant horns, glowing eyes and pointed teeth). Many pointed ice spears shoot up out of the ocean and the sand where many people are gathered, as thick dark clouds move through the sky; we see a car speared by ice later but do not see injuries.
► A manhole cover explodes out of the road, another manhole cover blows off and lands on the hood of a car, and a large ghostly dragon swoops out of the hole, preceded by a splatter of blue goo, and is being chased by a car; a teen girl uses a blaster to hold onto the creature (buildings are struck and damage occurs) as another person uses a containment device to catch it, the car nearly crashes into a stopped car, and swerves through traffic and a red light before slamming into a bike rental stand (there are no apparent injuries). A man uses a device to get a reading from an orb, it sparks and ice shoots through streets after the power goes out and containment fields are disabled; we see a crack in the foundation of a building later. A metal orb is placed in a containment chamber and attempts are made to extract a ghost from it; the orb vibrates and breaks open causing the power to go out and containment fields around other ghosts are lost as they try to get out, a man grabs the orb and his hand begins to freeze causing him to yell (we see him with a bandage on his hand and arm later) and drops the orb; the power comes back on and the ghosts do not get out. A teen girl points a proton blaster at a ghost, hesitates, then shoots and shatters a diner’s front window. A ghost is extracted from an item in a chamber in a lab; the ghost is then destroyed in a blast of energy or fire. A ghost walks through streets that flow with ice and the streetlights extinguish as a deep voice speaks to her. A building shakes and we see a large hole in a basement wall surrounded by ice. A teen shoots a proton beam at a giant being and it shoots ice back toward her freezing the power blast and her hands (she is OK later).
► Many tiny marshmallow men run through several scenes; we see some being smashed, some being impaled and some being shocked and burned, and one puts its hand in a pencil sharpener and we see marshmallow goo come out. Green goo drips from a ceiling and when a teen boy investigates the attic, a pile of trash on the floor appears to be breathing; a green ghost with red eyes and giant teeth swoops out of the pile and through the teen leaving him with a mouth filled with slime. A teen boy plants a trap of a path of snack food to goad a ghost out and it comes out, screams and slams into the teen splattering slime around. A teen girl plays chess alone in a dark park and a ghost glowing with blue flames appears to play against her; the ghost says that she was burned alive in a horrifying tenement fire. Alarms ring in a few scenes and a vehicle speeds out of a garage and through streets. People are shown a secret room where there are what seem to be weapons and armor and a teen girl asks if it is a “sex dungeon” and a few other sexual references are made. A car driven by a ghost speeds toward several people and they are knocked down but uninjured.
► A spirit jumps into a large garbage bag and runs through a library chased by several people; it runs to a giant statue of a lion that becomes animated, lunges toward a man and roars loudly before a teen shoots its tail off with a proton blaster and then shoots it to rubble (boulders crash onto cars in the street). An animated segment shows the history of a king that was banished and destroyed before being trapped in an orb. A man controls a flame on a lighter to light a candle nearby by waving his finger. Many ghosts pour out of containment and through the sky as a bright blast of energy shoots into the sky. A teen ghost turns to glitter and dissipates. A large truck starts itself and drives away as the driver runs after it on foot; the truck is being driven by many tiny marshmallow men.
► A ghost asks about a ghost extermination HQ. A man and a woman talk about confronting a possessed K9 and being turned into dogs. Introductory text describes the destruction of the planet by fire or ice. People talk about significant objects retaining some energy from the person who used them after they die; a woman hopes that there will be something of her husband in his favorite watch. A man poses questions to another man to determine if he is possessed by a cross dimensional beast (he asks about puppies saying, “Love them or kill them?” and how he likes to eat children with “skin on or skinless”); he throws a pen at the man’s head and the man yells and becomes upset causing a flame in another room to flare up. People talk about an evil being wanting to free ghosts to create an army of ghosts. A man exclaims, “I am a god.” A man yells at several people, berates them and threatens to tear down a firehouse where they are living for their behavior. A man yells at a teen girl after she is rude to her mother. Adults argue with teens in a few scenes about doing dangerous things. A teen boy remarks about needing to “puke” (he does not).
► A small ghost is seen in an enclosure in a lab and it spits green slime at an observation window when a man and a woman look at it. A small ghost rolls on the floor and spits slime in a man’s face.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire LANGUAGE 4

 – 6 sexual references, 5 scatological terms, 7 anatomical terms, 11 mild obscenities, name-calling (exploited, debacle, scary monster, boring, demented, bro, hookers, weird, horrific, stupid, monstrous, vagrants, devil’s testicle, impossible, dramatic, ashamed, disaster, fiasco, bookworm, selfish, little cutie, little ball of hate, unpredictable, crazy, ridiculous, unambitious, haunted, possessed), exclamations (oy vey, boo, you gotta be kidding me, what the fudge is wrong with you, the F-word, wake up, shut-up, jeez), 2 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, Holy [scatological term deleted], I am a god). | profanity glossary |

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man drinks from a whiskey bottle.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Fate, destruction of the planet, blended families, step-parenting, superstition, trust, pyro-kinesis, destiny, retirement, evil spirits, quantum physics, possession.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire MESSAGE

 – Understanding what happens to us after life is an ongoing mystery. Life is unpredictable.