Image: Sony, Lionsgate
The eternal question—“Who you gonna call?”—has come back around thanks to Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Ray Parker Jr.’s 1984 anthem has us thinking about the pop songs so prominently featured in some of our favorite sci-fi, animated, and superhero movies, they’ve become just as well-known as the movies they’re featured in.
Sometimes, soundtrack cuts become even more popular than the theme songs themselves—like with The Lost Boys’ sax-man jam “I Still Believe” overshadowing “Cry Little Sister (Theme From The Lost Boys).” Other times, songs take on a new life after being used in films, like Smash Mouth’s “All Star” in Shrek, or “Hip to be Square” by Huey Lewis and the News in American Psycho.
Including Back to the Future, Beetlejuice, and many Batman movies, as well as Spider-Man movies, Twilight, Will Smith’s iconic sci-fi theme songs, and modern hits featured in recent blockbusters like Nope, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Barbie—here are all our favorites.