It was just a few years ago that movies based on Stephen King stories had become the butt of many jokes. The past couple years have changed that. With the release of IT Chapter One, the quality of production went up and King once again became a certified box office draw. The first film in this saga even went on to become the most successful horror movie of all time. Now, Chapter Two is out and proving that Pennywise is no laughing matter. In fact, the evil clown is continuing to rack up massive grosses in its second theatrical week.
Earning another $12.8 million on Friday with a projected weekend gross of $40.7 million, the sequel is expected to hit $153.8 million when the second weekend closes out. While this is shy of what the first movie made in its first couple weeks, it's huge box office for a sequel and will probably be the driving force behind further talks of a prequel movie (which we think is a bad idea).
IT Chapter Two sees the characters of the novel return to Derry after 27 years to do final battle with the central antagonist, Pennywise. With arguably lower critical scores for this one, it doesn't seem to be hampering the success of the movie at all.
The film will take the number one slot at theaters this weekend with Hustlers stealing number two with $33 million. Angel Has Fallen slips to third while Good Boys takes the number four position. The long running release of The Lion King still took the fifth spot.