Royal Albert Hall Adds GHOSTBUSTERS to its Films In Concert Series for 2024

The beloved ‘80s sci-fi comedy, Ghostbusters, will join the Royal Albert Hall’s Films in Concert programme to celebrate the movie’s 40th anniversary.

Ivan Reitman’s original 1984 classic comes to the venue during Halloween week in 2024, with the film being screened in full, as Elmer Bernstein’s famous score is performed live by an on-stage orchestra conducted by the composer’s son, Peter.

Jason Reitman, the son of Ivan, and himself the director of Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, said: “Most people don’t know my father was a music major in college – he actually got into university on a music scholarship. His single favourite part of filmmaking was the recording of the original score and he considered Elmer Bernstein a storytelling mentor. Ghostbusters has one of the great legacies in filmic music and I’m counting the days to experience Ghostbusters in concert at the iconic Royal Albert Hall.”

The film forms part of a formidable 2024 Films in Concert line-up at the venue, alongside Raiders of the Lost Ark, Top Gun: Maverick, and the final films in both the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series.

Matthew Todd, Director of Programming and Engagement at the Royal Albert Hall, said: “We’re delighted to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Ghostbusters with this special one-off Films in Concert screening. Everyone knows that the film is an enduring comedy classic, and the chance to see it on a mammoth screen with 5,000 other fans is a chance not to be missed. But we’re especially excited to be bringing Elmer Bernstein’s score to centre stage – with the help of one of the world’s greatest orchestras.”

Elmer Bernstein is one of the most renowned composers in the history of cinema, writing the scores to The Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Escape, before being rediscovered by a new generation of directors, leading to his work on The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters and ¡Three Amigos!. Though the Hall marked his career with a memorable greatest hits show in 2017, this is the first time one of his scores will be performed in full as part of Films in Concert. 

Garnering widespread critical acclaim, Ghostbusters, written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, earned nearly $300 million at the global box office and became a mega-pop culture phenomenon that endures four decades later. The film stars Akyroyd, Ramis, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson as wisecracking parapsychologists who launch an ad-hoc ghost-catching start-up in New York City.

Tickets for the show, priced from £30 go on sale at 10am on Friday (15 December) with a pre-sale for the venue’s Friends and Patrons 24 hours earlier.

To post a comment, you must register and login.