Horror movies don't usually land at the box office like this. 。 It 。, the New Line/Warner Bros. adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel, is expected to end its opening weekend with $117.2 million at the box office. That's a。 staggeringly
。staggeringly
。 SEE ALSO:Critics say 'It' is missing something, but will still scare you silly。 For context: Prior to。It。 , the top opening weekend for an R-rated horror movie belonged to。Paranormal Activity 3 。 , which earned $52.6 million in 2011. The rest of that Top 10 list after。 Paranormal 。 is populated by movies that opened at $41 million or less.。 In other words: This is an unprecedented situation. R-rated horror movies just don't do this type of business. Hell, horror
。 movies don't do this type of business, regardless of rating.
。 It
。 By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.。 Thanks for signing up! 。In addition to topping the opening weekend charts for R-rated horror, It。also has the largest horror opening for
。 any。MPAA rating, the largest September debut, and the largest Fall season debut. If the estimate holds, it will also end the weekend as the third-largest debut of the year, just
。ahead of 。 ahead of
。 Spider-Man: Homecoming
。's $117 million.。 On top of all that: However the final weekend tally falls -- the current number is only an estimate -- it's already clear that。It 。 earned more in its opening weekend than the other nine movies listed in the weekend's Top 10。combined 。 . You could triple the total weekend take for those nine movies and still not quite scratch the。 It 。 estimate.
。The question, then, is why did this happen? King's work is certainly popular, and。It。 has enjoyed a buzzy ride since its debut trailer first dropped in March. Many people who are old enough to see an R-rated movie now remember the beloved-yet-flawed TV adaptation of。 It
。 It。from the '90s, so there's nostalgia in play here as well.
。 It。
But there's more to it than that. 。
We're just capping off one of the worst summer seasons in Hollywood history, with the lowest overall box office during that period in roughly two decades. In other words: movie buffs are bored AF. They've been aching for something new, and good, to see.。