Sony Pictures Entertainment, at the time of writing this, is less than two weeks away from at last releasing the much-discussed Ghostbusters movie franchise reboot, from screenwriter Katie Dippold and director Paul Feig: the duo that was behind the hit buddy cop comedy, The Heat. Sony is banking on Feig's movie being successful enough to usher in a new era of Ghostbusters-related entertainment, seeing as the company also has a new Ghostbusters cartoon TV series in the works, as well as a feature-length animated film (and those are just the Ghostbusters projects reported to be in active development).

Ghostbusters is currently tracking for a solid (not great, not terrible) opening at the U.S. box office, but it will be the actual box office turnout - coupled with word of mouth from critics and general audiences - that determines whether or not Hollywood's latest revival of a 1980s property is a success, failure, or something in-between. It's no wonder that the film's marketing push is now going stronger than ever, seeing as Feig's movie is reported to have cost upwards of $150 million to make (not counting promotional costs), in large part due to the visual effects needed to bring the supernatural baddies and the Ghostbusters' ghost-busting equipment in the film to life.

Sony has now released a proper clip from Ghostbusters, featuring the film's leads - Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig), Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones), and Jillian Holtzman (Kate McKinnon) - as the team tests out said ghost-catching tech, before taking it out into the field. In addition, several new Ghostbusters TV spots have been released of late (see them below), further highlighting the movie's blend of special effects, action, and character-based comedy.

All talk of online backlash aside, Feig has an excellent track record as a director - having released the hit raunchy comedy Bridesmaids and the hit espionage action/comedy Spy (in addition to The Heat) over the past five years. Thus, the odds are in his favor of delivering (at the least) a competent reboot of the Ghostbusters movie series, thanks also to the talented cast at his disposal - one which includes Chris Hemsworth (the Thor movies), Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live), Michael Kenneth Williams (Boardwalk Empire), and several original Ghostbusters cast members in cameo appearances.

On the other hand, no director (nor cast) bats 100% and Ghostbusters could prove to be one '80s-born franchise that probably would have been better off left in the '80s. There won't be too much direct competition at the box office when Ghostbusters first arrives in theaters, seeing as the next two big summer movie sequels (Star Trek Beyond and Jason Bourne) don't hit the scene until 1-2 weeks later - so regardless of how the general public takes to Ghostbusters in the long run, it has a good shot at turning a profit for Sony and (if so) breathing new life into the Ghostbusters franchise as a whole, in the process.

NEXT: Ghostbusters Director Ivan Reitman Discusses the Reboot

Ghostbusters opens in U.S. theaters on July 15th, 2016.

Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Comic Book