Horror sequel boasts ‘It’ factor
‘Chapter 2’ is second-biggest horror opening.
LOS ANGELES – A robust audience turned out to catch “It: Chapter Two” in movie theaters this weekend, but not quite as big as the first.
Studio estimates on Sunday say that “It: Chapter Two,” the only major new release, earned $91 million from North American ticket sales in its first weekend.
Trailing only its predecessor, which debuted to a record $123.4 million in September 2017, the launch of “It: Chapter Two” is the second-highest opening for a horror film and the month of September, which before “It” was not a strong month for blockbusters. Both were directed by Argentine filmmaker Andy Muschietti.
Jeff Goldstein, who oversees domestic distribution for Warner Bros., called the debut “sensational” and isn’t concerned that “Chapter Two” didn’t hit the heights of the first.
“How many movies open to $91 million? That was lightning in a bottle,” Goldstein says. “You don’t get lightning in a bottle twice. You get close, though.”
Based on Stephen King’s novel, “It: Chapter Two” brings the Losers’ Club back to Derry 27 years later to take on the demonic clown Pennywise, and stars James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader as a few of the adult “losers.” The sequel cost around $79.5 million to make. Reviews were a little more mixed than for the first movie – 86% positive vs. 64% on Rotten Tomatoes – but audiences were consistent. Both films got a B-plus grade on CinemaScore.
“Andy Muschietti does an incredible job of scaring the stuffing out of audiences,” Goldstein says.
Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian notes that, unlike most horror films which tend drop off significantly after opening weekend, “It: Chapter Two,” like its predecessor and some of the recent high-quality horror films, could have “incredibly long playability.”
“It: Chapter Two” is also a big win for Warner Bros., which had a few disappointments this summer with “The Kitchen” and “Shaft.”
The rest of the top 10 was populated by holdovers: Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman’s “Angel Has Fallen” took a distant second with $6 million, and the Rrated coming-of-age comedy “Good Boys” placed third with $5.4 million. Disney’s photorealistic “The Lion King’ finished fourth with $4.2 million, and the faith-based film “Overcomer” was fifth with $3.8 million.