Though not exactly a surprise, IT had some massive Box Office numbers this weekend.
How IT got there: Debut ($117M) IMAX ($7M) Budget ($35M) Females (51%) CinemaScore (B+) 25+ (65%)
— Exhibitor Relations (@ERCboxoffice) September 10, 2017
This was somewhat expected after the film shattered Deadpool‘s previous opening night record for an R-rated movie.
The studio isn’t waiting to develop a sequel, either, according to a recent report:
Even as New Line prepares for the Friday opening of its much anticipated adaptation of Stephen King’s It, the company is moving toward a second movie based on the massive horror novel. Gary Dauberman, one of the screenwriters on the new It, has quietly closed a deal to pen the screenplay for its sequel, and Andy Muschietti, who directed the new film, is waiting in the wings to return. Producers Barbara Muschietti, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg are expected to return as well.
The report adds:
New Line has not set a release date, although 2019 is likely, and if child actors are to be involved, the studio will have to move quickly before they grow out of the roles.
It’s clear that fans are interested in Pennywise – but they shouldn’t compare the 2017 performance to Tim Curry’s 1990 one – according to Bills Skarsgard:
“It was always important for me to reinvent It and reinterpret It in a different way. I sort of grew up with the Tim performance and I was very familiar with it and a huge fan as an actor, so my process of preparing for the role was, “okay this needs to be different” and I think we did that, I think this Pennywise is different and they can stand alone – there’s no need to compare them as you can appreciate both but it was important to me to do something new and something original with the take on the character.”
IT is currently playing in theaters everywhere.