As its second frame begins, Andy Muschietti's It is looking like it will ably win another weekend. The big openers of the weekend, American Assassin and mother!, are both charting reasonably well but the difference in Friday takes between the second and third movie in the top five, respectively, and Muschietti's number one contender is hard to shake.

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Image via CBS Films/Lionsgate

Indeed, It ended Friday with $19.2 million compared to American Assassin's $5.7 million and mother!'s $3.1 million. If no one bought a ticket for It today or tomorrow and mother! somehow made seven times what it made yesterday, Darren Aronofsky's latest might have a shot of conquering what is now the most profitable horror movie ever released, at least in terms of box office. It is sailing on little more than premise and name recognition from its source material, making something of a mockery of two movies that are anchored to their lead actors, whether that be Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem or Dylan O'Brien and Michael Keaton. In the case of American Assassin, there's also the faux-patriotic title and kill-dem-terrorists premise that could be perceived as hooks. Still, It is clobbering Michael Cuesta's empty action bonanza.

This left Home Again in fourth place with $1.6 million and The Hitman's Bodyguard in fifth with a little over $1 million. This will be the last weekend for the Ryan Reynolds-Samuel L. Jackson action romp, considering that next weekend will bring Kingsman: The Golden Circle, The LEGO Ninjago Movie, and horror whatsit Friend Request. The arrival of this trio will also almost certainly kick It out of its top placing, though I'm still skeptical that Friend Request will be able to hook the horror hounds.

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Image via Paramount Pictures

Even Aronofsky's mother!, now the single best movie in wide release, seems to be slow to pick up that demographic where It quickly attracted them and then some. Muschietti's film benefits from adapting King with style, imagination, and a great cast that are able to lend heart when the script snuffs it out. Coming on the heels of the resoundingly insufferable adaptation of The Dark Tower, another King classic, It makes a sharp case for humor, color, and a touch of madness over grim pseudo-maturity. That's a lesson that should be learned but it won't save It from the onslaught of the latest LEGO movie and the lifeless sex-and-violence extravaganza that is the second Kingsman film.

Here's your top five for Friday:

Title

Friday Domestic BO

Total Domestic BO

1. ‘It’

$19,200,000

$177,910,619

2. ‘American Assassin’

$5,760,000

$5,760,000

3. ‘mother!’

$3,100,000

$3,100,000

4. ‘Home Again’

$1,664,763

$13,465,847

5. ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’

$1,015,000

$67,822,040

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Image via Lionsgate
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Image via Warner Bros.
home-again-image-reese-witherspoon
Image via Open Road Films