Ghostbusters sequel confirmed by Sony exec: 'There is no doubt in my mind it will happen'

Rory Bruer expects the all-female reboot to become an 'important brand and franchise'

Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon star in Paul Feig's Ghostbusters (Hopper Stone, SMPSP)

Sony is preparing to call the Ghostbusters back for at least one more round of ghoul fighting following its $46 million US box office opening.

Rory Bruer, the studio’s president of worldwide distribution, has told The Wrap that there is “no doubt in his mind” that a sequel to Paul Feig’s all-female reboot is on the cards.

“The Ghostbusters world is alive and well. I expect it to become an important brand and franchise,” he said on Sunday. “While nothing has been officially announced yet, there’s no doubt in my mind it will happen.”

Producer Amy Pascal, the former Sony CEO who quit over the 2014 email hack, promised The Hollywood Reporter recently that “endless” Ghostbusters sequels and spin-offs will follow because “people are going to love this movie so much that they’re going to demand more”.

Current Sony chairman Tom Rothman was similarly hopeful, saying at the film’s Los Angeles premiere that initial backlash against the remake had been “great” for publicity. “The movie is a comedy, an entertaining comedy, but it is also now a real important part of the social conversation and you don’t usually get to do both of those things,” he said.

The four new Ghostbusters - Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones - faced nasty trolling from fans of the 1984 original, many of whom made sexist comments about the comic appeal of women.

Wiig and McCarthy confirmed recently that a scene which shows them reading out harsh remarks posted under a YouTube video of them ghostbusting was tweaked to mock the online abuse.

Reviews of Paul Feig’s much-hyped movie have been largely positive, with The Independent branding it “exactly the scrappy, dorky movie women need”.

Ghostbusters has been showing in UK cinemas since 11 July. It is the highest-grossing US live action comedy in over a year, despite coming in second place last weekend to The Secret Life of Pets ($50.6m).