Pennywise the Clown is a horror monster like no other.
Kind of like the Boggart of Harry Potter, or Room 101 from the George Orwell classic 1984, it’s a manifestation of your greatest fear(s) and now, the iconic character is back in theaters once again with It: Chapter Two, which opened this weekend and, as expected, floated right to the top of the box office.
Granted, it’s not like there was very much competition for Pennywise to fight off, but the sequel took in a whopping $91 million on home turf while pulling in $94 million overseas. That means it now stands at an impressive $185 million globally, though it should be noted that Chapter Two still fell short of estimates, with many analysts pegging a $110-$120 million opening in North America.
It’s likely that some mixed reviews and negative buzz online hurt the second part of this epic horror saga but even with where it currently stands, the film will likely still end off with a worldwide haul of between $600-$700 million, give or take. Whether that’ll be enough to make Warner Bros. want to do more (perhaps a prequel?) remains to be seen, but director Andy Muschietti certainly seems up for it.
In a recent interview with io9, he offered his own thoughts on the possibility of continuing on with the franchise and though he said that “nothing is on the table” at the moment, he did tease that Pennywise’s mythology leaves plenty of room for further stories, which he’s certainly right about.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. For now, It: Chapter Two is playing in theaters around the globe and while it may not be as big of a success story as its predecessor was, it’s still one of 2019’s best horror movies and well worth seeing on the big screen.
