After 36 years of waiting, the juice is finally loose again in this time racking up $110 million in its premiere weekend.
The long-awaited sequel is the third-best opening weekend of the year, only behind box office triumphs and
returns as the titular spirit and Catherine O鈥橦ara and Winona Ryder also reprise their roles as Delia and Lydia Deetz, with newcomer Jenna Ortega playing the latter鈥檚 daughter, Astrid. Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci and Justin Theroux round out the cast.
The Warner Bros. sequel is the second-highest grossing September movie of all time, only behind which opened with a staggering $123 million. The 2019 sequel opened with $91 million and previously held the No. 2 spot for September openings.
The original 鈥淏eetlejuice鈥� film earned a mere $8 million in its opening weekend in 1988, unadjusted for inflation, but went on to make $77 million in theaters domestically as it became a cult classic.
鈥淭here鈥檚 life in the afterlife,鈥� said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. 鈥淢any things have to happen simultaneously and all the stars are aligning.鈥�
Goldstein said the studio expected an opening weekend of between $80 million and $90 million. Given the early success, he said the film 鈥渕ay get really long legs鈥� with Halloween season approaching.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said September is 鈥渘ot known as a hotbed of $100 million blockbuster debuts,鈥� but attributed part of the film's success to Burton's singular style and the star cast.
In addition to the returning cast, Ortega, who starred in the Netflix series about the Addams family character, likely brought in younger audiences.
鈥淚f all this was were a nostalgia play for people who saw the first movie, it wouldn鈥檛 really necessarily work,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淧art of the magic formula of 鈥楤eetlejuice Beetlejuice鈥� is having a great cast of a revered generation of actors and then having young actors who are making their own mark.鈥�
The electric opening weekend kicks off the fall movie season with a bang after a and a that saw newer films struggle as holdover movies ruled the box office.
Beyond 鈥淏eetlejuice,鈥� 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine鈥� placed second on the box office charts, making $7.2 million in its seventh weekend. Its cumulative domestic total is now $614 million.
the Dennis Quaid-led biopic about the 40th U.S. president, continues to beat expectations. Climbing the ranks to third place in its second weekend, the film made $5.2 million.
and two more holdovers from the summer, came in fourth and fifth place, respectively. The sci-fi horror film brought in $3.9 million and the romance drama brought in $3.8 million.
The only other new release of the weekend to make it on the box office rankings was 鈥淭he Greatest of All Time,鈥� an Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film. The movie stars Joseph Vijay and was directed by Venkat Prabhu, who is known for directing and writing other Indian action films. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淏eetlejuice Beetlejuice,鈥� $110 million.
2. 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine,鈥� $7.2 million.
3. 鈥凌别补驳补苍,鈥� $5.2 million.
4. 鈥淎lien: Romulus,鈥� $3.9 million.
5. 鈥淚t Ends With Us,鈥� $3.8 million
6. 鈥淭he Forge,鈥� $2.9 million.
7. 鈥淭wisters,鈥� $2.3 million.
8. 鈥淏link Twice,鈥� $2.1 million.
9. 鈥淭he Greatest of All Time,鈥� $2 million.
10. 鈥淒espicable Me 4,鈥� $1.8 million.
Kaitlyn Huamani, The Associated Press
