411 Box Office Report: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Dominates With $110 Million

The Ghost With the Most is back in vogue, with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opening big at the box office this weekend. The long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel launched to $110 million, a hefty opening that surpassed even the bullish $100 million that was projected headed into the weekend. This marks the third best opening of 2024 behind only Deadpool & Wolverine’s $211.4 million and Inside Out 2’s $154.2 million.

The start marks Tim Burton’s second-best opening of his career, behind only Alice in Wonderland’s $116.1 million opening in March of 2010. It’s Winona Ryder’s best opening in a starring role by far, topping Mr. Deed’s $37.2 million in 2002, as well as Jenna Ortega’s (ahead of Scream VI’s $44.4 million). It’s Michael Keaton’s second-best opening for a live-action starring role, behind only Spider-Man: Homecoming’s $117 million.

The opening is fantastic by any measure, and a testament to Warner Bros.’ marketing of this film to get the word out. The studio capitalized on the original film’s iconic status and the massive nostalgia for it, and featured Ortega in the marketing to appeal to younger audiences. That allowed the film to be a four-quadrant movie, with the audience being 49% between 18 and 34 and women making up 58% of the audience.

It obviously helped that the film has been quite well received. Critics generally quite liked it at a 78% Rotten Tomatoes aggregate score, and audiences followed suit with an 82% RT audience rating and a B+ CinemaScore. The word of mouth paid off quite nicely as the film didn’t drop at all from Friday to Saturday and the projected Sunday numbers are down just 37% from those days.

The good word of mouth over the weekend should pay off for the film going forward. It’s a bit early to suggest that the film will leg out to $300 million; the film’s overperformance and nostalgia aspects lean toward the notion that it will have greater than average drops. But it also has little direct competition over the next month, which should help things along. As it currently stands, the film has added $35.4 million overseas for a $145.4 million worldwide start and should domestically make it to at least $260 million, and perhaps more if the legs prove strong. At a $100 million budget, this is undoubtedly a hit for the studio.

Deadpool & Wolverine was down 53% in its seventh weekend, bringing in $7.2 million. The MCU film has now totaled $614 million domestically and $1.287 billion worldwide, amazing numbers for the film. It still has a solid shot at surpassing The Avengers’ $623.4 million and is a major hit for Disney and Marvel against a $200 million budget.

Reagan had quite a strong hold in its second weekend, dropping just 32% to $5.2 million. The Dennis Quaid-led Ronald Reagan biopic is legging out well so far with $18.5 million domestically. (It has not opened overseas and probably won’t.) It still has a little ways to go to make back its $25 million budget but is in good shape overall, with a likely $28 million-plus domestic total and probable profit once it hits digital.

Alien: Romulus was off 58% in its fourth weekend to bring in $3.9 million. It’s a solid enough number and pushes the film further toward triple digits; it currently stands at $97.2 million domestically and a very impressive $314.4 million worldwide. The film is a very solid hit against its $90 million budget and should be able to make it to the $110 million range by the end of its domestic run.

It Ends With Us brought in $3.8 million, down 49% in its fifth weekend. The Blake Lively romantic drama has grossed a total of $141.4 million domestically and $309.4 million worldwide, huge against a $25 million budget and still on course for around $150 million in the US.

The Forge continues to be a good performer for Sony Pictures, with the faith-based drama down just 36% in its third weekend to $2.9 million. The movie has now grossed $20.8 million domestically and $20.9 million worldwide, a hit against a $5 million budget and aiming at $25 million stateside.

Twisters finally saw its bottom drop out, falling 71% to $2.3 million. That was not unexpected considering the film rose last weekend due to a promotional push. The disaster sequel is a hit for Universal at $264.6 million domestically and $365.8 million worldwide against a $155 million budget, likely ending its run at $270 million.

Blink Twice scored $2.1 million in its third weekend, slipping 56% from the previous weekend. The Zoe Kravitz-directed thriller now has $20.3 million in the US and $34.3 million worldwide, heading to profit against a $20 million budget. Its domestic total looks to end at around $25 million.

Despicable Me 4 was also down 56% in its ninth weekend with $1.8 million. The animated film has now totaled $357.9 million domestically and $929.5 million worldwide to date, great numbers against a $100 million budget. The film is now will close out at around $360 million by the end of its stateside run.

Opening quietly at #10 was A24’s The Front Room, which grossed $1.7 million. That’s a low start for the psychological horror film, which flew under the radar and got crushed by the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sucking all the air out of the room. It didn’t help that critics and audience disliked it, with a 58% RT critic aggregate score and a low 38% audience score, while the CinemaScore was a C-. No word on the budget, but the film is unlikely to even top $5 million domestically.

Next weekend will see Beetlejuice stay atop the box office, with none of the new releases making a dent. Universal’s remake of the 2022 Danish horror thriller Speak No Evil is looking at a $10 to $15 million start, while the Dave Bautista-led action comedy The Killer’s Game is looking at a mid to high single digits start. And the latest entry in the God’s Not Dead franchise, In God We Trust, should be in the same range.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – $110 million ($110 million total, $145.4 million WW)
2. Deadpool & Wolverine – $7.2 million ($614 million total, $1.287 billion WW)
3. Reagan – $5.2 million ($18.5 million, $18.5 million WW)
4. Alien: Romulus – $3.9 million ($97.2 million domestically, $314.4 million WW)
5. It Ends With Us – $3.8 million ($141.4 million total, $309.4 million WW)
6. The Forge – $2.9 million ($20.8 million total, $20.9 million WW)
7. Twisters – $2.3 million ($264.6 million total, $365.8 million WW)
8. Blink Twice – $2.1 million ($20.3 million total, $34.3 million WW)
9. Despicable Me 4 – $1.8 million ($357.9 million total, $929.5 million WW)
10. The Front Room – $1.7 million ($1.7 million total, $1.7 million WW)