“It: Chapter Two” Floats to $91 Million Debut

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BOX OFFICE REPORT

September 6-8, 2019

(estimates from BoxOfficeMojo.com)

TOP 5

It: Chapter Two  $91 million
Angel Has Fallen  $6 million
Good Boys $5.3 million
The Lion King $4.1 million
Overcomer $3.7 million

When your predecessor is a phenomenon, anything short of its accomplishments will look like a disappointment. It: Chapter Two debuted with an estimated $91 million. That's the biggest non-Disney opening of 2019, the fifth-biggest opening for an R-rated horror movie, and one of the biggest openings ever for any R-rated movie. It's also the third-biggest Stephen King adaptation of all time, in just three days. But because It was such an insanely big hit, exceeding Warner Bros.' wildest expectations, making $40 million less will almost certainly be viewed as a disappointment. But a few things worked against it: adults running from a clown just doesn't seem as intense as a group of kids, the reviews weren't nearly as good and the hype for the sequel wasn't nearly as big as the original. Still, this will be one of the biggest non-Disney movies of the year, it just won't be among the top five.

Angel Has Fallen slipped to No. 2 for the first time. The trilogy capper to Gerard Butler's absurd action franchise has made only $53 million in three weekends, still putting it in dead last among the Fallen films. Good Boys dropped to third, and it's become the highest-grossing comedy of the year, depending on how you want to categorize movies like Once upon a Time in Hollywood, The Upside and Yesterday. That's, uh, not great. Remember a few years ago when even a mediocre comedy like We're the Millers could make $150 million? Fun times.

The Lion King stayed in the top 5 for an eighth straight week, and it should pass both Rogue One and The Dark Knight before the end of the month to become the 11th-biggest movie of all time. Also not so great. And then there's Overcomer. Once again, the Kendrick Brothers have done it, churning out a poorly written, poorly acted, vaguely uplifting Christian movie and got evangelicals to turn out for it. It's nearly earned five times its budget in just three weekends.

Outside the top 5:

  • This Weekend's Indie Champ: Ms. Purple, an indie drama about a Korean-American woman and her brother repairing their relationship while their father's health deteriorates. The film made $18,650 on its lone screen.
  • Once upon a Time in Hollywood slipped out of the top 10, but it's now Quentin Tarantino's second-biggest movie ever. Hopefully like his top grosser (Inglourious Basterds), there will be some serious Oscar attention paid to it next year.
  • Score another success for a movie about a beloved musician from the '70s: Linda Ronstadt: Sound of My Voice averaged $16,500 on seven screens in its debut.

Next week:

It: Chapter Two gets some competition in the form of two Oscar hopefuls that premiered at TIFF. The Goldfinch is the prestigious literary adaptation that seems like it will flop, because it's hard to get across the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel's plot in a 30-second TV spot. I think it will debut in third with $10 million. Hustlers is riding a wave of great reviews and an empowerment-focused marketing campaign. I think that synergy, plus the inclusion of chart-dominating women like Lizzo and Cardi B will be enough for a strong second-place finish with $20 million. It: Chapter Two will take a steep drop, but will still earn about $35 million.

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About Kip Mooney

Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.