Stephen King’s horrifying novel IT captured the attention of readers in 1986. The story of Pennywise then shocked television audiences in 1990. For decades, fans associated the cosmic clown with Tim Curry’s iconic performance. Then, in 2017, everything changed – actor Bill Skarsgård helped recreate the character for IT: Chapter One and its 2019 sequel IT: Chapter Two. The duology told an all-new interpretation of Stephen King’s novel for modern audiences. The 2017 film was a major success and helped introduce a slew of new Stephen King adaptations. Unfortunately, IT: Chapter 2 was somewhat less successful, though it appears to have found a new audience on streaming.
As revealed via FlixPatrol, IT: Chapter Two has been climbing to the top over at the HBO Max streaming platform. In fact, as of this writing, it’s actually reached the sixth spot on HBO’s global Top 10 most-watched films. This has placed IT: Chapter 2 above such films as Sing 2 and the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. So, with that in mind, it’s clear that Pennywise is still a favorite amongst fans – especially if he has the power to beat most other flicks on the platform.
It’s always fun to see what films might make a comeback on streaming platforms. We’ve seen plenty of cult classics or underrated movies find new audiences thanks to streaming. And, because of that, new fans are made every day. While IT: Chapter Two wasn’t as successful as its predecessor, neither with viewers or the box office, it still did quite well for itself. But this newfound success on HBO Max proves that there’s still a much larger audience for IT: Chapter 2 just waiting to discover the thrilling Stephen King adaptation.
It’s fitting, too, because IT: Chapter Two isn’t exactly the end for Pennywise. There’s actually a new prequel series reported to be in the works. This new series, titled Welcome to Derry, is expected to premiere on HBO Max. It’s intended to be a prequel to the original film and further reveal the origins of Pennywise the Clown. Hopefully we’ll have more updates on that project soon.
In the meantime, however, it looks like now is the perfect time to revisit IT: Chapter Two on HBO Max. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding the IT franchise or any other exciting Stephen King works.