Weekend box office – It: Chapter Two scares up $185 million global debut

When director Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of Stephen King’s II dropped into cinemas in 2017, it scared the pants off any expectations notching up the biggest domestic opening ever for a horror film, the biggest September opening weekend ever, and the second-biggest R-rated debut at the time (Deadpool 2 would eventually eclipse it). On top of all of that commercial success, it was also beloved by critics with an 87% Fresh rating on RottenTomatoes. It: Chapter Two though, is just a bit off that pace, but still dominating handily.

The horror sequel hit US theatres this weekend past, bringing in a massive $91 million which puts it in second place behind its predecessor’s $123 million for both horror and September releases. Although I’m sure Warner Bros would have liked more, that is still well within studio expectations and enough to blow away any other film on the charts (more on that soon).

Internationally though, Chapter Two actually improved on the first film, earning $94 million from 75 markets as opposed to the original’s $62 million. It: Chapter Two has definitely not been as well-received as It critically though, only hitting 64% on RT but a $185 million global tally goes a long way to salving Warner Bros’ qualms, especially since this will help to course-correct the studio after a recent string of big losses like The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Shaft, and The Kitchen.

With no other new releases in the US this weekend past, it was up to the leftovers to pick up… well, the leftovers from It: Chapter Two. And there really wasn’t much to go around. In second place, Angel Has Fallen earned just $6 million, as Good Boys rounded out the top three with $5.4 million. The most notable entry on the charts is actually the Shia LaBeouf-led The Peanut Butter Falcon which added more locations to propel itself from twelfth to seventh place as it earned $2.2 million.

Let’s see what the rest of the US top ten chart looks like:

[table ai=”1/No.” class=”table table-striped” tablesorter=”1″]
Movie Name, Weekend gross, Percentage change, US Domestic gross, Worldwide gross, Last Week’s Position

It: Chapter Two,$91 million,NE,$91 million,$185 million,NE

Angel Has Fallen,$6 million,-49%,$53.4 million,$82.2 million,1st

Good Boys,$5.3 million,-43%,$66.8 million,$82.4 million,2nd

The Lion King,$4.1 million,-39%,$529.1 million,$1.599 billion,3rd

Overcomer,$3.7 million,-33%,$24.7 million,$24.7 million,6th

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,$3.7 million,-42%,$164.2 million,$719.7 million,4th

The Peanut Butter Falcon,$2.2 million,-24%,$12.2 million,$12.2 million,12th

Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark,$2.2 million,-54%,$62.1 million,$88.8 million,7th

Ready or Not,$2.2 million,-62%,$25.6 million,$35.5 million,5th

Dora and the Lost City of Gold,$2.1 million,-47%,$54.1 million,$82.3 million,11th
[/table]

NE = New Entry