Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
It slays rivals with $123 million
It, based on the Stephen King horror story, topped the box office in a recordbreaking debut for a September release, a sign of hope for an industry reeling from its worst summer in more than a decade.
Viral marketing featuring a creepy clown and a red balloon helped drive excitement around It, which collected about $123.4 million in sales in U.S. and Canadian theaters for Warner Bros., researcher ComScore Inc. said Sunday. The other new release of the weekend, the lambasted Home Again, placed second with about $8.6 million.
September traditionally is known as a poor month at the box office, but films such as sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle from 20th Century Fox and The Lego Ninjago Movie from Warner Bros. could change that. September will probably tell us where we are going to be at year end, said Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co.
It, a remake of a 1990 TV miniseries, screened in 4,103 theaters, the widest release ever for an R-rated film, according to Box Office Mojo. It more than doubled the previous record for a September debut, set by Hotel Transylvania 2 with $48.5 million in 2015. The previous largest opening weekend for an Rrated horror feature was held by Paranormal Activity 3 with $52.6 million.
The Exorcist from 1973 holds the record for largest domestic gross for R-rated horror films with $233 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
It taps into the same vein of 1980s nostalgia that made Netflix Inc.’s Stranger Things such a hit. The movie is an adaptation of King’s 1986 novel.
Warner Bros.’ latest incarnation of the freaky clown Pennywise is played by Bill Skarsgard. Directed by Andy Muschietti and co-written by Cary Fukunaga, who directed the first season of HBO’s True Detective, the film recounts the tale of a group of bullied kids who band together to kill the creep who’s been hunting local children. The movie scored 89 percent positive reviews, according to RottenTomatoes.com, with critics praising the acting and suspense.
Home Again features Reese Witherspoon as single mom Alice Kinney, who moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles with her two daughters. Her life changes when she meets three filmmakers whom she lets move in. Most critics gave it a resoundingly negative review.
Lionsgate’s The Hitman’s Bodyguard got bumped to No. 3 after three weeks atop the chart, adding $4.8 million, for a cumulative total of $64.8 million. Starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds, the picture’s 54 percent decline was the highest in the top five.
Coming in fourth was New Line Cinema’s Annabelle: Creation, which, despite losing 355 sites and facing increased genre competition from It, grossed $4 million in its fifth weekend for an estimated $96.3 million.
Rounding out the top five was the Weinstein Co.’s drama Wind River, which brought in about $3.1 million after adding 288 locations for a to-date total of $25 million. The crime thriller, set on an American Indian reservation in Wyoming and starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen, was written and directed by Taylor Sheridan (screenwriter of Sicario and Hell or High Water) and earned an 86 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.