‘It: Chapter Two’ Can’t Top Original’s Debut, Nabs Second-Highest Horror Movie Opener
Written by SOURCE on September 8, 2019
Due to the fact that its predecessor pulled in more than $700 million just two years ago, it seemed like a pretty bankable prediction that the nearly three-hour-long It: Chapter Two would do well at the box office during its opening weekend. Now that that weekend’s over (or…at least close to over, which sucks) it’s fair to say that previously mentioned and extremely obvious prediction was proved correct.
According to Box Office Mojo, the second round of clown-based horror brought in $91 million from U.S. audiences over the past few days. That strong showing put it *counts on fingers* $85 million ahead of this weekend’s second-best grossing film, though it did come up short of the $123 million opening the original It had back in September 2017. While that’s slightly disappointing (…if your paycheck’s somehow tied to that) It and It: Chapter Two now own the distinction of being both the first and second biggest horror openings of all-time, in addition to also being the first and second biggest September openings of all-time.
Box Office Mojo states It 2‘s opening lined up within studio expectations, though it didn’t score as well critically as the 2017 edition (86 percent to 64 percent on Rotten Tomatoes).
Outside of the states, It: Chapter Two was released in 75 international markets, and set a record for the largest horror opening in 16 of those markets. In total it brought in $94 million outside the U.S., which gave it an overall global opening of $185 million.
As for non-killer clown movies, Gerard Butler’s Angel Has Fallen came in second at the domestic box office with a pull of $6 million, giving it a $53 million total in the three weeks it’s been out.
In third was the R-rated Good Boys, which brought in $5.4 million to give it a domestic total of nearly $67 million, and a global total of about $82 million.
Worth mentioning, the flick rounding out the fourth spot was the live-action The Lion King, which brought in a shade over $4 million (though one should note it’s in its eighth week). Domestically that Disney update has brought in $529.1 million in the U.S., and $1.07 billion internationally, giving it the seventh highest worldwide box office total of all-time, with receipts adding up to just under $1.6 billion.
Hmmm. Let this all be a lesson about why you got to start your franchise off right.
