# Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
**Ghosts of Girlfriends Past** is a 2009 American fantasy romantic comedy directed by Mark Waters, in which a celebrity photographer and committed womanizer is visited by the ghosts of his former girlfriends, past, present, and future, on the eve of his brother's wedding. It stars [Matthew McConaughey](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthew-mcconaughey), Jennifer Garner, and [Michael Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-douglas), was written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, and was released by Warner Bros. on May 1, 2009.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghosts_of_girlfriends_past) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3847587329/) The film is a loose reworking of [Charles Dickens](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-dickens)' *A Christmas Carol*, with a playboy photographer in the Scrooge role.[3](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past-2009)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | May 1, 2009 (wide), Warner Bros.; 3,175 theaters at opening[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3847587329/) |
| Director / writers | Mark Waters; screenplay by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghosts_of_girlfriends_past) |
| Cast | Matthew McConaughey (Connor Mead), Jennifer Garner (Jenny), Michael Douglas (Uncle Wayne), Breckin Meyer (Paul), Lacey Chabert (Sandra), Emma Stone (Allison)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghosts_of_girlfriends_past) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past/) |
| Box office | Domestic $55,250,026; worldwide $102,366,815 (Box Office Mojo) or $102,512,802 (The Numbers)[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3847587329/) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ghosts-of-Girlfriends-Past) |
| Opening weekend | $15,411,434, 27.9% of the domestic total; ranked No. 2[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ghosts-of-Girlfriends-Past) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3847587329/) |
| Critical reception | 27% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (142 reviews); Metascore 34 on Metacritic (29 reviews)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghosts_of_girlfriends_past) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past/) |
| Rating / runtime | PG-13 for sexual content throughout, some language and a drug reference; 100 minutes per The Numbers and Rotten Tomatoes, 1 hr 55 min per Box Office Mojo[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ghosts-of-Girlfriends-Past) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3847587329/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) is a famous fashion photographer committed to bachelorhood and simultaneous relationships with multiple women; early in the film he breaks up with three girlfriends at once by videoconference.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghosts_of_girlfriends_past) • [3](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past-2009) He arrives at the estate of his late Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas) for the wedding of his younger brother Paul ([Breckin Meyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/breckin-meyer)), where he mocks love, calls marriage "a corrupt and hateful institution," and crosses paths with Jenny ([Jennifer Garner](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-garner)), his childhood sweetheart and the one woman immune to his charm.[6](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past-12a-1676892.html)
That night the ghost of Uncle Wayne, the hard-partying ladies' man who taught Connor everything he knows about women, appears to announce that three ghosts will visit him: the ghosts of girlfriends past, present, and future.[7](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past/cast/2030286641/) The first ghost, a high school girlfriend who was his first conquest, takes him on a tour of how his attitudes toward women formed under Uncle Wayne's influence; the later ghosts show him his present behavior and a lonely future.[8](https://readthespirit.com/visual-parables/ghosts-from-girlfriends-past-2009/?print=pdf) The visits lead Connor to reconsider his ways, and the film ends with him reconciling with Jenny.[9](https://theindependentcritic.com/ghosts_of_girlfriends_past)
## Production and release
The screenplay by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore was an original script for [New Line Cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-line-cinema).[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past/) • [10](https://www.hsx.com/security/view/GHOGP) Production companies included New Line Cinema, Jon Shestack Productions, and Panther Films, and the film was distributed by Warner Bros.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ghosts-of-Girlfriends-Past) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past/) It opened wide on May 1, 2009 in 3,175 theaters, its widest release, and ran in theaters through August 13, 2009.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3847587329/) Warner Home Video released it on home video on September 22, 2009.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ghosts-of-Girlfriends-Past)
## Box office
The film opened second for the weekend of May 1 to 3, 2009, grossing $15,411,434, which was 27.9% of its eventual domestic total.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3847587329/) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ghosts-of-Girlfriends-Past) Weekly drops were steep: the second weekend fell 33% to $10,258,141, and by its fifth weekend the film had fallen to ninth place with $1,911,401.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ghosts-of-Girlfriends-Past) Domestic receipts reached $55,250,026, about 54% of the worldwide total.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3847587329/) The two tracking services differ slightly on the international and worldwide figures: [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) reports $47,116,789 international and $102,366,815 worldwide, while The Numbers reports $47,262,776 and $102,512,802.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3847587329/) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ghosts-of-Girlfriends-Past) Estimated domestic physical disc sales added $26,063,855, of which $23,800,572 came from DVD and $2,263,283 from Blu-ray.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ghosts-of-Girlfriends-Past) Inflation-adjusted to the tracking service's baseline, the domestic gross equals $88,105,373.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ghosts-of-Girlfriends-Past)
## Reception
Critics received the film poorly. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 27% Tomatometer from 142 reviews and a 40% audience score from more than 250,000 ratings; the site's critics consensus calls it "a retread of A Christmas Carol" that "lacks originality, humor, and any semblance of charm."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghosts_of_girlfriends_past) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 34, labeled generally unfavorable, based on 29 critic reviews, with 7 positive, 11 mixed, and 11 negative; its user score was 5.2 out of 10.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past/)
Reviewers singled out the Dickens borrowing and the lead performance. Roger Ebert, film critic of the *Chicago Sun-Times*, described Connor as "a modern Scrooge, who believes marriage is humbug," and wrote that McConaughey was "admirably villainous as a lecher" but "not convincing as a charmer."[3](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past-2009) Peter Bradshaw of *The Guardian* called the film "crass and joyless" while allowing that the premise was not a bad idea and that Michael Douglas gave "a game cameo" as the louche uncle.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/may/01/ghosts-girlfriends-past-film-review) John Walsh in *The Independent* found no original thought in the film but judged that it "bounds along amusingly."[6](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past-12a-1676892.html) The *Chicago Reader* praised the writers for "gleefully cribbing from 'A Christmas Carol' to fashion a screenplay with heart and sharp one-liners."[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past/)
The film did win one award: the Women Film Critics Circle gave it a 2009 Hall of Shame award, citing "Matthew McConaughey as cardboard cutout misogynist, in one too many phone-it-in rom-coms featuring toxic bachelors."[12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0821640/awards/)
## Place in McConaughey's career
*Ghosts of Girlfriends Past* was the last of Matthew McConaughey's run of romantic comedies that began with *The Wedding Planner* and included *[How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days](https://www.edgepedia.org/how-to-lose-a-guy-in-10-days)*, *[Failure to Launch](https://www.edgepedia.org/failure-to-launch)*, and *Fools Gold*. According to *Time*, McConaughey said in interviews that he began turning down such roles, which he found boring despite their tendency to bring in around $100 million at the box office, and moved to darker material beginning with *The Lincoln Lawyer*.[13](https://time.com/9540/matthew-mcconaughey-mcconaissance-movies/) The film's worldwide gross of about $102 million fits that pattern of commercially successful but poorly reviewed rom-coms.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3847587329/)
## References
1. [Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ghosts_of_girlfriends_past)
2. [Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3847587329/)
3. [A serial swordsman duels with destiny, review by Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com (April 29, 2009)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past-2009)
4. [Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past/)
5. [Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ghosts-of-Girlfriends-Past)
6. [Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (12A), review by John Walsh, The Independent (April 30, 2009)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past-12a-1676892.html)
7. [Ghosts of Girlfriends Past cast and synopsis, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/ghosts-of-girlfriends-past/cast/2030286641/)
8. [Ghosts from Girlfriends Past (2009), Visual Parables, Read the Spirit](https://readthespirit.com/visual-parables/ghosts-from-girlfriends-past-2009/?print=pdf)
9. [Ghosts of Girlfriends Past review, The Independent Critic](https://theindependentcritic.com/ghosts_of_girlfriends_past)
10. [Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, MovieStock, HSX.com](https://www.hsx.com/security/view/GHOGP)
11. [Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, review by Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian (May 1, 2009)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/may/01/ghosts-girlfriends-past-film-review)
12. [Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0821640/awards/)
13. [Charting the McConaissance: The Evolution of Matthew McConaughey, Time](https://time.com/9540/matthew-mcconaughey-mcconaissance-movies/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2009 to 2010 › Released in 2009*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license