The long-awaited “Beetlejuice” sequel is currently tracking to set a near record when it debuts on September 6 across the country.
Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” hits theaters this week — 36 years after the first film came out — and the film currently looks to earn $100-$110 million at the domestic box office, based on advanced ticket sales and tracking data, the Hollywood Reporter reported.
If those numbers hold, the highly-anticipated sequel will be able to claim the second-best opening of all time coming in behind the monster hit in September 2017 of “It,” which launched at $123 million, not adjusted for inflation.
However, Warner Bros is being more conservative and believes it will debut with $80 million plus, the outlet noted.
The current record holders for movies with the second-biggest September openings include Marvel’s 2021 “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” with $75.4 million and 2019’s “It Chapter Two” with $91.1 million.
Box Office Preview: ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Eyes Near-Record $100M-$110M September Opening https://t.co/vPQ1VSuMQa
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 4, 2024
The original film in 1988 grossed $74 million at the box office, or more than $195 million when adjusted for inflation, and became an instant cult classic.
Returning for the sequel are several stars of the original film, including actor Michael Keaton who famously played the bizarre lead character “Beetlejuice,” along with actress Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara. Newcomers to the fantasy comedy include Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, and Justin Theroux.
On his return to the maniacal “Beetlejuice” character, Keaton recently assured fans that his character, once again, does not accommodate the politically correct crowd.
The 72-year-old star said one of his stipulations for agreeing to participate in the sequel project 36 years later was not giving his titular character a lot of screen time, just like in the first film.
“The idea was, no, no, no, you can’t load it up with Beetlejuice, that’ll kill it,” Keaton told GQ. “I think the Beetlejuice character doesn’t drive the story as much as he did in the first one. He’s more part of the storyline in this one as opposed to the first one, which is a case of, this thing comes in and drives the movie a little bit.”
In the 1988 fantasy horror film, Beetlejuice was only on screen for 17 minutes total. Keaton elaborated that Beetlejuice is an “it” but not because of society’s obsession with pronouns.
“He’s a thing. He’s more of a thing than a he or a she, he’s more of an it. And I’m not saying ‘it’ to be politically correct. I just viewed it as a force more than anything. I mean, there’s definitely strong male energy, like stupid male energy, which I love,” the actor explained. “You don’t want to touch that because it’s not like you go, ‘Well, it’s a new year and this thing would now act like that.’”
Amanda Harding contributed to this piece.
Related: Michael Keaton Promises Beetlejuice Character Won’t Be ‘Politically Correct’ In Sequel
