“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” jumped in the line and earned $41.5 million from 4,575 locations across Friday and preview screenings. That’s the second-biggest opening day ever for a September release, only falling behind 2017’s “It” ($50.425 million). It’s also the biggest ever for director Tim Burton’s career, landing ahead of the $40.8 million opening day of “Alice in Wonderland” back in 2010.
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That’s a triumphant kick-off for the decades-brewing legacy sequel, produced at a budget of $100 million. And for Warner Bros., it’s a much-needed, unmitigated hit. After a summer that saw the studio put out abject nonstarters like “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” (albeit, WB was not a production financier on that one, just a distributor), “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is now potentially looking at a $97 million-plus opening weekend in North America. In just three days of release, that would clear more than half of Warner Bros.’ total domestic haul across all of its summer releases. The film also gets the lion’s share of Imax and other premium large-format auditoriums to boost its revenue.
There’s good potential for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” to remain a significant draw in the weeks ahead, considering its PG-13 family-friendliness and soon-to-be-seasonally-appropriate horror aesthetic as the calendar creeps to Halloween. Critics have been positive on the paranormal comedy since its well-received world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Audiences are largely pleased too, though the B+ grade determined by research firm Cinema Score indicates that early ticket-buyers have some reservations with the film.
The first “Beetlejuice” was a sizable hit back in 1988, becoming the 10th biggest film of the year and giving Tim Burton a breakthrough success with only his second feature. In the decades since, the property has spawned an animated series, a Broadway musical and countless pinstriped Halloween costumes. This new entry sees Michael Keaton return as the eponymous Ghost with the Most, summoned back to the land of the living to harass the women of the Deetz family (Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, both reprising their roles from the original). Newcomers include Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, Arthur Conti and Justin Theroux.
Also opening this weekend, A24 has booked 2,095 theaters for its horror film “The Front Room,” starring Brandy and directed by brothers Sam and Max Eggers. The feature has not been well-reviewed and audience polls turned in a low C- grade on Cinema Score. Rivals are projecting a $1.5 million opening weekend, well outside the top five. Horror breakout, this is not.
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After spending five of the past six weekends at No. 1, Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” will slide to second once again. The Marvel Studios mega-hit added another $1.7 million on Friday. This weekend, the superhero feature will surpass “Incredibles 2” ($608 million) to become the 15th-highest grossing domestic release of all-time. Next in its crosshairs: “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” ($620 million).
Showbiz Direct’s inaugural release “Reagan” is also looking at a healthy hold in its sophomore outing, with rivals projecting a 33% drop and $5.1 million gross for its second frame. The Dennis Quaid-starring biopic will reach $20 million domestic on Monday or Tuesday. It was a $25 million production.
Disney gets fourth place with “Alien: Romulus,” which picked up another $1 million on Friday. The domestic total should inch past $100 million within the next week; it’ll be the 15th film this year to notch that milestone.
Sony’s “It Ends With Us” should get fifth place after earning $1.1 million on Friday. After nearly one month in theaters, the Blake Lively drama stands to surpass $140 million domestic this weekend and outpace “A Quiet Place: Day One” to become the 10th-highest-grossing North American release of the year.
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