{"id":117101,"date":"2017-09-10T23:23:05","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T03:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=117101"},"modified":"2017-09-10T23:23:05","modified_gmt":"2017-09-11T03:23:05","slug":"it-floats-away-with-record-breaking-117-2-million-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/09\/10\/it-floats-away-with-record-breaking-117-2-million-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It’ floats away with record breaking $117.2 million weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"This<\/a>
This is a official poster for It. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, New Line Cinema, the publisher of the Film or the graphic artist. (Wikimedia commons, Fair use)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LOS ANGELES\u2014 ‘It’ is a hit.<\/p>\n

The Stephen King adaptation from New Line and Warner Bros. shattered records over the weekend earning $117.2 million from 4,103 locations according to studio estimates on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Not only is \u201cIt\u201d now the largest ever opening for a horror movie and the largest September opening of all time, the film more than doubled the earnings of the previous record holders. Before this weekend \u201cParanormal Activity 3\u201d had the biggest horror opening with $52.6 million from 2011, and the highest September debut was \u201cHotel Transylvania 2’s\u201d $48.5 million in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe blew past everyone’s most optimistic and aggressive projections and I think there might be room for us to grow this weekend even still,\u201d said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution.<\/p>\n

Goldstein said he was conservative with Sunday projections due to the confounding factors of the film’s R-rating, the popularity of late night showings, the beginning of football season and Hurricane Irma.<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether there is an uptick when final numbers are reported Monday, \u201cIt’s\u201d success is still astounding, especially considering that the project from director Andy Muschietti cost only $35 million to produce.<\/p>\n

Critics and audiences were on the same page, too. The film has a fresh 86-per cent Rotten Tomatoes score, and audiences, who were 65 per cent over age 25, gave \u201cIt\u201d a B+ CinemaScore.<\/p>\n

Starring Bill Skarsgard as the homicidal clown Pennywise, \u201cIt\u201d is the first of a planned two-part series. The second is slated to come out in the third quarter of 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt starts with a brilliant story from Stephen King,\u201d Goldstein said of the stellar performance. \u201cThe director made a fabulously compelling movie, our marketing just nailed it and the date was special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, the date proved key. With no discernable competition, save for the counter programmed opening of the Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy \u201cHome Again,\u201d which came in a very distant second with $9 million, \u201cIt\u201d was able to dominate screens and show times at major movie theatres.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t think anyone could have imagined an opening over $100 million for this movie,\u201d comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. \u201cSuddenly September is on the map with its first $100 million debut. Every month of the year is a potential hit-maker and this is really good news for an industry that for the last six weeks has been in the doldrums.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u201d is just the latest example of a film that defies old box office logic about which timeframes work for tent-pole movies. Before \u201cStar Wars: The Force Awakens,\u201d no December movie had ever opened over $100 million, for instance, and the same went for the month of February until \u201cDeadpool\u201d proved that to be antiquated thinking as well.<\/p>\n

The success of \u201cIt\u201d also comes after an underperforming summer movie going season that left the year to date box office down 6.5 per cent from last year. Now, with the \u201cIt\u201d factor, the year is down only 5.5 per cent<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been a lot written about the demise of the box office. This seems to come up every few years and it’s all content driven. If there are good movies that are out there in the marketplace, the public will embrace them and be excited to see them. If we come up with movies they are not interested in, they stay away,\u201d Goldstein said. \u201cThis is a movie they wanted to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

The overwhelming dominance of \u201cIt\u201d made the rest of the charts look downright anemic. In third place was \u201cThe Hitman’s Bodyguard,\u201d with $4.9 million, \u201cAnnabelle: Creation\u201d took fourth with $4 million, and \u201cWind River\u201d rounded out the top five with $3.2 million.<\/p>\n

But a monster hit like \u201cIt\u201d does have the potential to affect the box office on the whole, potentially spurring movie going momentum.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a cyclical business. One day it’s Chicken Little and the next it’s bright sunny days ahead,\u201d Dergarabedian said. \u201cSeptember will be the August we wish we had. We could be looking at a record-breaking month after an abysmal summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next week, Paramount debuts Darren Aronofsky’s psychological horror \u201cmother!\u201d starring Jennifer Lawrence, which could benefit from the glow of \u201cIt,\u201d or get dragged into the sewer with the rest of the competition.<\/p>\n

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.<\/p>\n

1.\u201cIt,\u201d $117.2 million ($62 million international).<\/p>\n

2.\u201dHome Again,\u201d $9 million ($955,000 international).<\/p>\n

3.\u201dThe Hitman’s Bodyguard,\u201d $4.9 million ($7.9 million international).<\/p>\n

4.\u201dAnnabelle: Creation,\u201d $4 million ($8.6 million international).<\/p>\n

5.\u201dWind River,\u201d $3.2 million ($1.2 million international).<\/p>\n

6.\u201dLeap!\u201d $2.5 million.<\/p>\n

7.\u201dSpider-Man: Homecoming,\u201d $2 million ($71.8 million international).<\/p>\n

8.\u201dDunkirk,\u201d $2 million ($13.5 million international).<\/p>\n

9.\u201dLogan Lucky,\u201d $1.8 million ($1.7 million international).<\/p>\n

10.\u201dThe Emoji Movie,\u201d $1.1 million ($5.7 million international).<\/p>\n

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cSpider-Man: Homecoming,\u201d $71.8 million.<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cIt,\u201d $62 million.<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cDunkirk,\u201d $13.5 million.<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cAnnabelle: Creation,\u201d $8.6 million.<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cAmerican Made,\u201d $8.1 million.<\/li>\n
  6. \u201cThe Hitman’s Bodyguard,\u201d $7.9 million.<\/li>\n
  7. \u201cMemoir of a Murder,\u201d $7.4 million.<\/li>\n
  8. \u201cDespicable Me 3,\u201d $6.2 million.<\/li>\n
  9. \u201cThe Emoji Movie,\u201d $5.7 million.<\/li>\n
  10. \u201cA Silent Voice,\u201d $5 million.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate\u00a0Entertainment\u00a0Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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