‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Tracking for Huge September Opening With Possible $80M

Talk about juicy.

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Director Tim Burton and Warner Bros.’ highly anticipated Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is tracking to open as high as $80 million at the North American box office when it flies into theaters Sept. 6, according sources with access to data from leading research firm NRG.

Warners is being more conservative, suggesting $65 million to $75 million, considering that tracking has often been off as of late, either turning out to be too low or too high.

Either way, the fantasy horror-comedy is on course to scare up one of the biggest September debuts of all time, not adjusted for inflation. Topping that list is 2017’s It ($123 million) and 2019’s It Chapter Two ($91.1 million), both from from New Line/Warner Bros. That’s followed by Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($75.4 million), which was released amid the pandemic in 2021, and New Line’s 2018 feature The Nun ($53.8 million).

Burton’s follow-up to his 1988 movie Beetlejuice reunites the filmmaker with Michael Keaton in the titular role. Other returning castmembers include Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara. Newcomers include Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti and Willem Dafoe.

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The film story centers on Lydia Deetz (Ryder) and her family returning home after a tragedy and then dealing with the consequences when her daughter, Astrid (Ortega), opens the portal to the afterlife. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ s teaser trailer debuted in March and featured Keaton declaring to an astonished Ryder, “The juice is loose.”

Burton directed the sequel from a script by Wednesday showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, with Seth Grahame-Smith credited for his work on the film’s story.

The 1988 film transformed into a cult classic and grossed $74 million at the box office, or more than $195 when adjusted for inflation.

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