Nothing like a little nostalgia to give the box office some extra pop.
It’s been 36 years since we last saw Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice. For a lot of fans, the wait was worth it. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice coasted to a massive win this weekend, scaring up an estimated $110 million in North America. That’s the second-biggest September opening of all time, trailing just 2017’s ITfor the honors.
Overseas markets weren’t quite as enamored of Michael Keaton’s white-faced demon as stateside audiences were. It cleared just $35.4 million internationally, pushing its global take to $145.4 million.
The success of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice also reinforced a couple box-office lessons. First, if you want to make a profit, dust off a popular, old film that hasn’t gotten a sequel yet. Fans waited nine years between the releases of Inside Out (2015) and Inside Out 2. And the latter is still the year’s biggest flick (with $651.9 million). There was a 28-year hiatus between Twister (1996) and Twisters, and the sequel has swept up a cool $264.6 mil.
Second … sandworms. The two movies with sandworms in them this year have both reached blockbuster status (Dune: Part Two being the other, with its $282.1 million).
Deadpool & Wolverine, which dominated the box office for the latter part of the summer, finished a very distant second to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The R-rated superhero flick clawed up $7.2 million this weekend, sending its total domestic tally to $614 million.
Reagan finished third with $5.2 million, while Alien: Romulusslid into fourth place with $3.9 million. And It Ends With Usproved that its own end is still some ways off. It earned nearly another $3.8 million to finish fifth.
The Front Room—the only other real newcomer that dared challenge Beetlejuice Beetlejuice—finished 10th with $1.7 million.
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