October 3rd: Largest Blockbuster Horror Film
Hands down: It (2017). A blockbuster film is one that is insanely popular and financially successful. Horror movie franchises may be blockbusters; however, single horror movies within the franchise rarely are.
Stephen King’s 1153 page, 2 and ½ inch thick tome hit the theaters on September 8, 2017 with low, really low, expectations. The studio was hoping to double their $35 million-dollar investment. Bad weather was forecasted and would surely hinder theater attendance. Instead, the weather and the trailers couldn’t draw movie-goers in fast enough. Until It. The R-rated movie grossed $123 million in the US over the opening weekend and $770 worldwide during its theatrical run. It was a blockbuster movie and worth an investment of 2:15 minutes of audiences’ time.
Set in Derry, Maine in 1989, It: Chapter 1, as it’s now referred, introduces audiences to little Georgie, a bored boy with a mission to sail his toy boat down the bloated streets during a thunderstorm, where he encounters “Pennywise,” a sinister clown who lures unsuspecting minors to their deaths. The first film follows older brother Bill and his friends trying to sort out what is happening.
Although the book jumps back and forth between the teenagers and then adults, the movie focuses on the teens. Chapter 2 will pick up with them grown, yet still sorting out Pennywise with flashbacks to the younger kids. Grab some popcorn and get comfortable, Pennywise has just begun to frighten.
