“It” will pass the $500 million worldwide box office mark on Thursday, Warner Bros. announced.
Andy Muschietti’s critically-acclaimed Stephen King adaptation is also the highest-grossing horror film ever, and in the process broke the 44-year record belonging to “The Exorcist.”
Domestically, the film starring Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the Clown has grossed $270.4 million since its debut on Sept. 8. The film has broken several other records, including top horror film opening and biggest September opening for any film.
“Crossing $500 million is rarified air for any film, but for a horror film it is history-making, and we could not be prouder,” said Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Warner Bros. “The filmmakers and cast did more than make a box office hit; they created a communal, must-see moviegoing event that has reverberated around the globe and is still going strong. We congratulate Andy Muschietti, the extraordinary producing team, and everyone involved in ‘It’ on reaching this amazing milestone.”
“It” is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, which was first published in 1986. It tells the story of seven kids who are terrorized by a shapeshifting predator that takes on their fears. Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard and Wyatt Oleff also star.
Let's Revisit the 1990 'It' TV Miniseries: 5 Floating Facts About Pennywise and Friends
With the new film "It" in theaters now, we asked John Campopiano -- one of several filmmakers doing a documentary about the 1990 version of Stephen King's "It" -- to take us deep into the history of that TV miniseries. Here are five things we didn't know.
Stephen King has said he decided to make his scary creature a clown because clowns scare children more than anything else. "They do have that kind of monstrous thing going for them," he told Conan O'Brien.
Jonathan Brandis, who portrayed young Bill Denbrough in "It," had worked on another Stephen King film adaptation the year prior. He did the voiceover for the opening scenes of the 1989 film "Pet Sematary."
Tim Curry's Pennywise makeup changed quite a bit during the production. It went from being very dramatic and articulated to more subdued. Curry had recently worked on the film "Legend" and was not excited about being in a lot of makeup again. He and director Tommy Lee Wallace agreed that he would have minimal makeup.
Despite being set in Derry, Maine, the miniseries was actually shot in and around Vancouver, British Columbia.
Many fans dislike the ending of the miniseries, specifically the scenes involving the giant spider. Even cast and crew members, including Wallace, have expressed disappointment with how it came together.
Bonus: King once had his own scary interaction with a clown: a man dressed as Ronald McDonald once said next to him on a first-class flight, lit up a cigarette and ordered a gin and tonic. He told King he had come "from McDonaldland."
With the new film ”It“ in theaters, we look back at the miniseries that made everyone hate clowns
With the new film "It" in theaters now, we asked John Campopiano -- one of several filmmakers doing a documentary about the 1990 version of Stephen King's "It" -- to take us deep into the history of that TV miniseries. Here are five things we didn't know.
