Warner Bros.’ “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” kicked off what is expected to be a big opening weekend with $13 million grossed from Thursday night previews on 3,400 screens.
The studio is projecting an $80 million-plus opening for Tim Burton’s sequel starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega. But independent trackers say that a domestic launch above $100 million is in play. If it clears that mark, “Beetlejuice 2” will become the second September release to do so, joining the $123.4 million start of fellow Warner release “It” in 2017 that included $13.5 million in Thursday previews.
Premiering in Venice last week, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” has enjoyed generally positive reviews from critics, sporting a 76% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Exhibition sources also say that advance ticket sales for the film have been strong across all age demographics, not just Gen X audiences nostalgic for the film’s 1988 predecessor.
That should set the sequel up for long legs over the coming month, as it will have a lane for itself against upcoming releases like Universal/Blumhouse’s “Speak No Evil” and the animated films “Transformers One” from Paramount and “The Wild Robot” from Dreamworks.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is now in theaters.
