There’s just no stopping New Line’s It reboot at the box office, as The Wrap reports tonight that the film has now crossed $300 million domestically, making it the only horror flick to ever hit that mark. Think about that for a second. In the history of the genre, no movie has ever reached that number – until now.
Speaking about this tremendous achievement, Warner Bros. distribution head Jeff Goldstein said the following:
“The triple crown of factors got us to this point: great marketing, great distribution, and of course, a great movie.”
Before Andy Muschietti’s movie crossed the $300 million mark, the highest grossing horror film domestically was The Sixth Sense, which brought in $293.5 million on home turf. Now, however, It has taken the throne, as the movie currently sits at $304.9 million on this side of the shore. And that’s off a budget of only $35 million, no less. Impressed yet?
No? Ok, then how about this – It is also now one of only 4 R-rated films to hit $300 million domestically, with the other three being Deadpool, The Passion of the Christ and American Sniper. Furthermore, this weekend also brought the movie to $600 million globally.
Of course, given that It is only about a month into its theatrical run, there’s still a ton of time to rake in even more dough and you can bet that the studio execs are grinning from ear to ear right now, no doubt tremendously pleased with their decision to give the green light for a sequel.
Tentatively titled It: Chapter 2, things will pick up with the Losers Club 27 years after the events of It. Given that, we’re unclear as yet whether the film will herald the return of Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), Sophia Lillis and the rest of the gang, but assuming director Andy Muschietti and Co. incorporate flashbacks into the story, there’s a very good chance New Line’s sequel will feature both the original Losers Club and their adult counterparts, as the fight against Pennywise begins to reach its bloody conclusion. Chalk that up as conjecture for now, though, as there’s currently no script in place.
Suffice it to say, it’s been an incredible first month for the movie and now that Pennywise has been banished for upwards of 27 years, the Losers Club will go their separate ways – at least, until the advent of It: Chapter 2 in 2019.