Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a movie that was somewhat panned by fans of the 1988 original, has defied the all haters at the box office, bringing in a reported haul of $440 million internationally.
It’s an impressive feat for the Tim Burton vehicle, which has already enjoyed a spot in the top ten spot at the domestic box office some two months after it hit screens. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — which sees Michael Keaton reprise the titular role alongside fellow returning castmate Winona Ryder and newcomer Jenna Ortega — has managed to maintain a healthy run at the cinemas, going toe-to-toe with superhero blockbusters like Venom: The Last Dance and Joker: Folie à Deux.
The $400 million international box office haul adds to the sequel’s already eye-watering run domestically, where it opened to $111 million and became the third-highest debut of the year. Since then, it has hit the $285 million milestone at the domestic box office, with its concurrent availability on streaming doing little to slow its money-making success. All of that, on top of the film’s meager $100 million budget, spells a major win for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, in spite of the criticism it has faced by legions of Burton heads.
“Walked out,” one viewer wrote of their Beetlejuice 2 movie-going experience, before describing the movie as a “one star, unwatchable money grab.” Others said the movie was so bad that they regretted playing a part in its box office haul, writing that they “sadly contributed to this.” Elsewhere, some audience members responded to news of the sequel’s international success a little less harshly, saying the film was “not as good as the first movie, but entertaining nonetheless.”
For all its naysayers, however, the sequel still has some diehard fans, and received pretty high praise from some critics. One viewer applauded the box office haul as “well deserved,” and many others defended it purely on its nostalgic merit. In any case, Beetlejuice 2’s box office success still pales in comparison to Burton’s top three highest-grossing outings, which are reserved for Batman, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Alice in Wonderland, respectively.
Naturally, all this talk of box office numbers has fueled speculation of a third installment in the Beetlejuice franchise, and those involved in the sequel haven’t totally discounted the rumors. Earlier this month, Keaton said he would be happy to do a Beetlejuice movie “every year,” while producer Tim Harper said Burton’s “love for the title and the characters” means the “door is open” for a potential threequel.
Burton himself has been a little more cagey about the possibility of Beetlejuice 3, citing the 36-year gap between the first two installments as evidence that the franchise has perhaps run its course. “Well, if [the same] time frame goes on, I’ll be about 100,” the Edward Scissorhands director said in August. “So maybe. I doubt it.”
Burton might be too busy at work on Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman, an upcoming reimagined take on the 1958 original penned by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn. Since she’s now his perpetual muse, we’re hazarding a guess that Ortega will be the fifty foot woman in question.
