The top-grossing ghost wants to breathe some life into the sluggish box office.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 film about a troublesome poltergeist, is expected to gross $100 million to $110 million in its opening weekend. Based on those estimated ticket sales, the follow-up could land alongside 2017’s “It” ($123 million debut) and 2019’s “It: Chapter 2” ($91 million) as one of the biggest September debuts of all time.
Warner Bros, the distributor of “Beetlejuice 2,” is expecting a more conservative opening of $80 million. Anything over $80 million would be frighteningly good considering the $100 million production budget.
Box office analysts and theater owners expect nostalgia for the original and word of mouth for the sequel to initially drive ticket sales into the triple digits. Burton returned as director and brought in Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and Catherine O’Hara as stepmother Delia Deetz. “Wednesday” favorites Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe joined the cast. diversity Chief film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice doesn’t give you the full monster-kitsch shock of the original film. But, he continues, “there’s good fan service and bad, and as stilted and cheesy as the film can be at times, I found it quite entertaining.”
The first Beetlejuice film was a critical and box office hit, grossing $74.7 million and inspiring a Tony-nominated Broadway musical. The story follows a devious underworld spirit who helps a recently deceased couple haunt the new residents of their former home. The sequel is set 36 years later, when the daughter of Lydia Deetz (whose family was the target of the horror in the original) discovers the portal to the afterlife and inadvertently releases everyone’s favorite bio-exorcist ghost.
“Beetlejuice” is the only new release this weekend, so whether audiences say its name three times or not, the film will dominate the domestic box office charts. The horror comedy will displace Disney’s Marvel sequel “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which has been at No. 1 for five of the last six weekends, grossing $603 million domestically and $1.26 million worldwide.
Despite megahits like “Inside Out 2,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Despicable Me 4,” the summer ended at the box office with a 14.3% decline in domestic revenue from 2023, according to Comscore. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is expected to shake up the fall season, which is set to continue with Paramount’s animated film “Transformers One” (September 20), Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot” (September 27), Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga’s “Joker: Folie à Deux” (October 4), Sony’s comic book trilogy “Venom: The Last Dance” (October 25) and Paramount’s gruesome horror spinoff “Smile 2” (October 18).
