‘IT’ Heads Towards $700 Worldwide Box Office

After an underwhelming summer at the box office, IT became a major success, going on to become the highest-grossing horror movie of all time. Over three months after its release, the film is close to earning $700 worldwide.

The new adaptation of the Stephen King story shattered expectations, as the week of release it was predicted to earn roughly $50 million, only to go on and earn $120 million domestically in its opening weekend.

While the film technically earned the distinction of the top-grossing horror movie, this number doesn’t include inflation. Were the numbers adjusted, The Sixth Sense would exceed $1B, while The Exorcist would earn $1.8 billion and Jaws tops $2 billion.

IT wasn’t the only horror smash this year, with the cumulative totals of IT, Split, Get Out, Annabelle: Creation, Happy Death Day and Jigsaw helping the horror genre earn close to $2 billion worldwide. Annabelle also helped the overall Conjuring universe to top $1 billion in worldwide box office, being the fourth entry into the shared universe of horror films.

In hindsight, the success of IT seems like a given, but audiences weren’t always sure it would be such a success, especially due to how beloved the previous live-action adaptation remains.

The original King novel is over 1,100 pages, telling the story of a monstrous entity that plagues the small town of Derry, ME. Initially, a group of kids bands together, dubbing themselves “The Losers’ Club,” to vanquish “It” once and for all. The group reunites 27 years later when they realize their efforts didn’t have a lasting impact on the monster, forcing the Losers’ Club to dredge up painful memories from their past.

The novel jumps back and forth between timelines, utilizing flashbacks to explain the group’s experiences as kids while the story unravels in the “present.” The 1990 miniseries adaptation of the story went the same route, utilizing the three-hour running time to explore the characters as adults and kids.

This year’s film focused solely on the young characters, with the sequel, set for a September 6, 2019 release, aiming to focus on the adult characters while also incorporating some flashbacks.

Get your copy of IT on Digitial HD on December 19 and on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD on January 9, 2018.

[H/T Bloody Disgusting]