It’s officially September, and for the first weekend of the month, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was the record-breaking, box office winner.
Warner Bros. and Tim Burton’s horror-comedy sequel opened to $145.4 million. According to Variety, the bulk of that came domestically, where it began its theatrical run with $110 million. It’s the second-biggest September debut of all time behind the $123 million debut of 2017’s It: Chapter One (and directly ahead of It: Chapter Two’s $91 million in 2019). For 2024 overall, it’s the third-best domestic opener of the year behind Deadpool & Wolverine’s massive $211.4 million start and Inside Out 2’s $154.2 million.
There’s been a big marketing push behind Beetlejuice Beetlejuice over the past several months, and renewed interest in the larger franchise. Along with getting people to rewatch the first film to see if it still holds up (and maybe just Burton’s entire filmography overall), it definitely helps that the 90s animated series recently hit Tubi ahead of the sequel’s release. Its stars can also be credited: people love them some Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, and Jenna Ortega, particularly the latter thanks to Wednesday and the Scream sequels. Add on the strong word of mouth from its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and it’s no surprise that folks have drank the Juice, as it were.
What else is there to look forward to this month? Genre-wise, Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil remake will finally hit theaters on September 13, along with a one-day run for the first three episodes of Dandadan, Lionsgate’s action-comedy The Killer’s Game, and the Megan Fox sci-fi horror flick Subservience. The folllowing week on September 20, we’ve got the animated prequel Transformers One, Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley’s The Substance, and Halle Berry protecting kids once more in Never Let Go. Finally, September 27 will close things out with Hellboy: The Crooked Man, The Wild Robot, Azrael, and Megalopolis.
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