Ghost is a 1990 American supernatural romance film directed by Jerry Zucker from a screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin, and starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn, Vincent Schiavelli, and Rick Aviles. It focuses on Sam Wheat (Swayze), a murdered banker, whose ghost sets out to save his girlfriend, Molly Jensen (Moore), from the person who killed him – through the help of the psychic Oda Mae Brown (Goldberg).
Ghost was theatrically released on July 13, 1990, to commercial success, grossing $505 million against a budget of $22–23 million and emerging as the highest-grossing film of 1990 and at the time of its release, was the third-highest-grossing film of all time. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with particular praise going towards the score and performances of the cast. Ghost earned five nominations at the 63rd Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, and winning Best Supporting Actress for Goldberg and Best Original Screenplay for Rubin.
Plot
Banker Sam Wheat and his girlfriend, artist Molly Jensen, renovate and move into a Manhattan loft with the help of Sam's friend and co-worker Carl Bruner. One night, after attending the theater with Molly, Sam is killed when a mugger tries to steal his wallet. Sam is shocked to realize he is a ghost, but when angels appear to take his soul to Heaven, he returns to Molly.
Weeks later, in an effort to raise her spirits, Carl takes Molly for a walk. When the mugger enters their apartment in search of something a few minutes later, Sam scares their cat into attacking him and he flees. Sam follows the mugger, Willie Lopez, back to his apartment, and learns that the mugging was planned when Willie makes a call to an unknown person. He promises to return to Sam and Molly's apartment to continue looking for what he came for.
After leaving Willie's apartment, Sam comes across charlatan Oda Mae Brown's psychic reading parlor, where she works with her sisters. When Oda Mae hears Sam's voice, she realizes she must have inherited her mother's true psychic gift. Sam pesters Oda Mae by singing to her all night until she agrees to tell Molly about Willie. Molly goes to the police, who have no criminal file for Willie Lopez but they show her Oda Mae's lengthy record that includes fraud charges and several aliases, leaving Molly disheartened.
Sam eventually discovers it was Carl who had Willie attack him to obtain his book of bank passwords, in order to transfer laundered money for drug dealers into one account under the fictitious name "Rita Miller". Determined to protect Molly, Sam enlists the help of a poltergeist haunting the New York City subway to teach him how to move physical objects. Afterwards, Sam convinces Oda Mae to pose as "Rita Miller" and withdraw the money, which he has her give to charity. Sam starts to haunt Carl, who becomes frantic to find the money once he realizes it has been withdrawn. Carl visits Molly and learns that Oda Mae was the person who initiated the withdrawal.
Sam warns Oda Mae and her sisters and instructs them to hide just before Carl and Willie arrive. Sam terrorizes Willie until he runs screaming into the street and is killed after being struck by a car. As Carl flees, demons drag Willie's soul to Hell.
Sam and Oda Mae return to his apartment, where Sam levitates a penny towards Molly to confirm his presence. After Molly calls the police, Oda Mae lets Sam possess her body and he slow-dances with Molly, unaware that using her body saps his energy. Carl forces his way into Molly's apartment while she and Oda Mae flee upstairs. Carl holds Molly at gunpoint and demands the money Oda Mae withdrew from the bank. Sam, now recovered, frees her and pushes a heavy scaffold onto Carl, crippling him. In desperation, Carl swings a metal hook at Sam before trying to escape through a window. The hook swings back, shattering the window pane which slides down and fatally impales Carl in the chest. The demons that took Willie's soul return to take Carl's soul to Hell.
Sam finds Molly and Oda Mae and asks if they are alright. Molly can now hear Sam, much to their surprise. Soon after, a Heavenly light fills the room, revealing Sam's presence to both Oda Mae and Molly. Sam tells Oda Mae her mother would be proud and tells Molly he loves her. They share a kiss and their final goodbyes, and Sam walks into the light to join the angels in Heaven.