"It" broke box office records this weekend with a $117.1 million opening that beat analysts' expectations.
This escalates Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of the Stephen King novel to the third-highest opening weekend film of 2017.
"It" could become the biggest film opening released in September or October and comes close to breaking the record for the biggest opening for any R-rated film, according to The Wrap.
This title is currently held by "Deadpool," which drew a $132.4 million opening, but "It" will likely fall short due to a number of theater shutdowns in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
"It" was initially projected to post a much lower debut weekend, however a stream of positive reviews, which included an 86 percent "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, boosted the New Line and Warner Bros film’s performance.
"There’s something really special about the story itself, the way the movie was made, and the marketing," the distribution chief at Warner Bros, Jeff Goldstein, told Variety. "The stars aligned on this, and we still have some room to grow for the weekend."
The storyline behind "It" plays upon a universal fear of clowns as the film follows a group of children forced to stand up against an evil clown, Pennywise, who has a history of violence and murder dating back centuries.
It is this longstanding fear of clowns that experts believe can be attributed to the film’s success.
Senior media analyst at comScore, Paul Dergarabedian, told Variety that this very fear created an "event for fans who came out to be scared en masse in the communal environment of the movie theater."
Although "It" has just been released, plans for a second film are already underway.
The Hollywood Reporter noted that one of the screenwriters, Gary Dauberman, has been confirmed to write the screenplay to the sequel, which will be called "Chapter Two."
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