IT is upon us. If early ticket sales for Andy Muschietti's adaptation of Stephen King's classic horror tome are any indication, then the New Line Cinema flick is in for a very healthy weekend at the box office. Back in August, the film was tracking well and box office estimates were tallied at between $50 and $60 million for its debut. Thursday's pre-show sales have already accounted for 25% of that total, which is massive.
With $13.5 million in Thursday pre-show sales, IT is already setting records. Here they are at a glance:
- Largest horror pre-show.
- Largest R-rated pre-show.
- Largest September pre-show
- Largest pre-show for a movie based on a Stephen King book.
Pretty impressive, but the real box office story will start to take shape on Sunday morning as the full weekend estimates roll in. A $60 million total seems like a lock with $70 million now within reach. And that's just the beginning! Relatively weak competition throughout the month of September should give IT legs for the next few weeks; the horror rush as we approach Halloween may just keep the film going strong throughout October as well. mother!, Tyler Perry's Boo 2! A Madea Halloween and Jigsaw are the closest competitors in the genre, so it'll be interesting to see who the big winner is from this bunch, but for now, IT looks to scare away all of this weekend's contenders.
For more of our extensive and continuing coverage of IT, be sure to peruse some recent write-ups provided at the following links:
- Let’s Talk About that ‘IT’ Ending and How It Sets up The Next Chapter
- ‘IT’ Producers on the Evolution of Pennywise, Deleted Scenes, and ‘Chapter Two’
- ‘IT’ Sequel Moving Forward for Likely 2019 Release
- ‘IT’ Review: The Losers Are the Winners Here
- ‘IT’ Composer Benjamin Wallfisch on the Score’s 80s Inspiration, Pennywise’s Theme, ‘Dunkirk’ and More
