Ghostbusters II opened on this day 35 years ago. The sequel enjoyed the biggest three-day opening weekend ever at the time of its release, a record it got to hold onto for…one week. No, really. The following weekend saw the launch of Tim Burton’s mega-blockbuster Batman, and also included the premiere of Disney’s sleeper hit Honey, I Shrunk the Kids! As a result, Ghostbusters II died surprisingly quickly at the box office, but it did still make it to $112 million, which was considered a respectable take.

Now, people have many theories as to why Ghostbusters II underperformed (I mean, the most obvious one was competing against fucking Batman, but I digress). Some blame the quality of the film, claiming Sony made an effort to produce a sequel far less edgy than its predecessor. Others say it’s because it was just too goofy, with the horror movie element from the original being virtually gone. However, I think the real factor was Hardee’s. That’s right. I think Hardee’s killed the Ghostbusters. Or, rather, the Government did.

You see, Hardee’s proclaimed themselves “Ghostbusters Headquarters,” and as we’ll quickly learn, hubris is an ugly beast. You wanna be bold enough to call yourselves the “Ghostbusters Headquarters,” well, you’d better fucking make sure your toys don’t get recalled by old Uncle Sam. The seemingly harmless “proton packs” each made a different sound when a button was pressed, and apparently, their batteries could be removed by small children and potentially swallowed by them. Hardee’s answered the call, ending the promotion after just two weeks and ordering a voluntary recall of the nearly three million units that had been sold. Never mind that the commercial does clearly point out (in tiny print, mind you) that they were not intended for kids under three.

So yeah, without the crucial support of the all powerful fast food chain Hardee’s, Ghostbusters II had no chance of succeeding. Instead, audiences flocked to Batman, since it had a Taco Bell campaign featuring 100% safe plastic cups that no one, as far as I’m aware, would have been able to choke on, and more importantly, they weren’t foolish enough to sell any “Bat Signal” flashlights that the young folk might have tried to eat. You win this round, Taco Bell. It’s a shame you had to take the Ghostbusters down to do so.

Have a great day, y’all!