A shot of the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod, featured in the first trailer for Ghostbusers: Afterlife. (Sony Pictures Entertainment)

By David Opinko

Tickets on sale for special screening of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, filmed in Southern Alberta

Oct 4, 2021 | 9:52 AM

FORT MACLEOD, AB – A major upcoming motion picture, substantially filmed in Southern Alberta, will get an opportunity to shine in Fort Macleod.

Tickets go on sale at 11:00 am on Monday, October 4 for the special early screening of Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Many scenes in the movie were shot in the region in the summer of 2019, including action-packed sequences in downtown Fort Macleod.

Now, the film is ready to come out and The Empress Theatre will play host to the screening on Saturday, November 13.

According to the Town of Fort Macleod, the fundraising event will help to refurbish the theatre’s seats and floors.

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Ghostbusters: Afterlife releases to the rest of the world on November 19.

In addition to the screening, Main Street will be blocked off with fire pits, music, costume contests, photo booths, Ghostbusters fan clubs, memorabilia, and more.

“People from the movie/filming industry are expected to be in attendance,” reads a media release from the Town of Fort Macleod.

The town’s former CAO Sue Keenan said, between 12 days of filming, it was a major economic boost for the community.

“A lot of our motels were full, there was a lot of visitors in town, we had over 200 crew here, most of whom stayed in town – of course, the stars stayed in Lethbridge – but it was a really good boon for us. You can’t put a price tag on all the marketing that came with that and even the trailer now.”

With the addition of the public coming by to see what was happening, Kennan estimates that there might have been around 5,000 extra people in the community at any one time. That is quite the feat for a town that had a permanent population of 2,967 as of the 2016 federal census.

Other locations in southern Alberta were utilized for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, including Calgary, Drumheller, Turner Valley, Beiseker, Dorothy, Crossfield, and the hoodoos in the region.

For more details on the special screening, and how to buy tickets, go to The Empress Theatre’s website here.