This weekend Tim Burton and Warner Brothers’ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opened to a spectacular $111 million.
This is currently the third best opening of the year behind Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine, and the second biggest opening ever for September, right behind Warner Brothers’ own It (2017).
This is a huge rebound for Warner Brothers this year, as they just had a dismal summer.
Last year, Warner Brothers was kicking ass with Barbie in July, then The Meg 2, Wonka, and even early this year with Dune Part Two and Godzilla x Kong in March. All these films were smash hits.
But this summer, ALL of their films either underperformed or flopped, starting with Furiosa, then The Watchers, Trap, and Kevin Costner’s Horizon.
The total cost of these movies (including marketing) added up to $550+ million, while the total box office of these added up to $320 million. So yeah, this was a really bad summer for the studio.
But with the success of Beetlejuice 2, the bleeding seems to have stopped, and Warner Brothers seems to be poised to dominate the rest of the Fall season.
Joker 2 is the next wide release from Warner Brothers, and even if the reviews aren’t as strong as the first (61% vs 69% on Rotten Tomatoes), the murdering-clown-sequel is already expected to be a huge financial success (tracking to open with $100+ million).
Plus with a new Minecraft and Superman movie coming out next year, this is a sigh of relief for a studio that’s been slashing expenses to try to get out of its mountain of debt.
Okay, let’s get back to Beetlejuice 2. It’s not just a smash hit for the studio, but for director Tim Burton, and movie-stars Michael Keaton, Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara.
Here are three big takeaways as for why Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is performing so well.
#1: THE ORIGINAL FILM IS A BELOVED HORROR-COMEDY CLASSIC THAT’S NOT OVEREXPOSED, AND FANS ARE INTERESTED IN A NEW STORY
Tim Burton’s very quirky 1988 spooky comedy did really well at the box office, energizing Burton’s and stars Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder’s careers, while also creating a creepy and strangely endearing trickster character, Beetlejuice, who became beloved by fans and kids.
And even though the film is now 36 years old (!!), it has aged well, and can still be enjoyed by fans and families (okay – despite the very non-”me too” idea that a 500 year old corpse wants to marry a 17 year old).
The film is still rewatched by a lot of families every Halloween, up there with The Nightmare Before Christmas and other spooky, holiday classics.
But more importantly, there also has not been an overindulgence of Beetlejuice media since the first film.
Within the past 36 years there was a well received but short-lived Beetlejuice cartoon series (1989-1991), that had an ALL-TIME AMAZING animated intro which you can watch here.
(Although did anyone else find it WEIRD that the first film was about a 500 year old corpse trying to marry a 17 year old, and in the cartoon they’re now FRIENDS, who now go on wacky adventures together?)
There was also a popular stage musical version of Beetlejuice that was on Broadway, and even toured in other U.S. cities and countries.
Other than the original film, the cartoon and the Broadway, that’s all Beetlejuice fans have had for nearly 40 years.
Like many classic movies (think Top Gun or Star Wars) people have continued to discover Beetlejuice at various points in the last 36 years, whether it was the original movie, the cartoon, or the Broadway musical.
These all kept Beetlejuice fresh in people’s minds, just enough to make the new movie a multi-generational nostalgic event. And fans don’t want a remake: they are interested in the same characters, and what they are doing next.
#2: THE CAST FROM BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE IS VERY OF THE MOMENT
Winona Ryder has had a career resurgence thanks to her role in the incredibly popular Stranger Things (2016-), currently the most streamed show of all time on Netflix. Catherine O’Hara meanwhile has an acclaimed performance in Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020), and Michael Keaton continues to draw attention with standout roles in Birdman (2014), Spotlight (2015), The Founder (2017), and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
Then they brought in Jenna Ortega, a prominent and successful Gen Z actress, who is coming off of Wednesday, Netflix’s second biggest show ever, which reimagines the classic Addams Family series with a Tim Burton twist.
Audiences are also clearly more excited to see Michael Keaton back in costume as the titular Beetlejuice than they were for his Batman return in The Flash last year.
Beetlejuice’s opening weekend box office of $110 million managed to more than double The Flash‘s $55 million.
The star-studded cast’s appeal spans generations, drawing a notable turnout from older female fans.
The demographics show a predominance of women (58%) compared to men (42%). Meanwhile 73% of the audience is over 25 years old and 27% under 25.
And according to PostTrak opening night data, 41% of ticket buyers were motivated by their love for the franchise, while 38% were drawn to the cast.
The breakdown of interest also shows: 30% of attendees were fans of director Tim Burton, 27% were there for Michael Keaton, and 25% were attracted by the performances of Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder.
The audience also included a significant 34% Latino and Hispanic moviegoers, with Caucasian audiences comprising 52%.
All of this highlights the significant power of the cast in reviving interest in this older franchise with the high percentage of older viewers reflecting the enduring appeal of Tim Burton’s work, and the cast’s nostalgic value.
Given the popularity of these films’ characters, don’t be surprised to see a horde of Beetlejuice, Lydia and Delores costumes on Halloween this year!
#3: THE FILM IS THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN FOR THOSE SEEING A PG-13 TENTPOLE BLOCKBUSTER
This past summer we had mostly R-rated tentpoles (Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Alien: Romulus, Deadpool & Wolverine) and/or apocalyptic dystopian films (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, A Quiet Place: Day One).
We have not had a PG-13 all-quadrants mega-title since, at best, Twisters in mid-July.
So if you’re a family looking for entertainment that can be enjoyed by all – Beetlejuice 2 is the only game in town.
And it’s a pretty “soft” PG-13 – “scary for kids, but safe for parents”.
I got to see the movie myself over the weekend with a friend, and we really enjoyed it.
The film is definitely a little messy, has at least one subplot too many, but it’s really entertaining and surprisingly funny, with some great gags plus a semi-interesting storyline.
The best parts were the amazing set designs and practical effects, plus Michael Keaton doesn’t skip a beat as the chaotic titular character.
For fans, it’s hard not to recommend watching Beetlejuice 2 during the Halloween season.
HOW MUCH MONEY CAN BEETLEJUICE 2 END WITH?
Let’s start with some drivers of profit.
- Beetlejuice 2 is pretty cheap for a big-deal Warner Bros tentpole, “only” costing $100 million to make.
- It’s getting good audience reaction, with a B+ from CinemaScore (good for a fantasy horror comedy) and better than the first Beetlejuice which only got a B. The fact that the film jumped 43% from Friday to Saturday implies great day-to-day word of mouth from audiences.
- It had a great release date (the first weekend of September, perfect for a spooky all-quadrant horror film to start off the Fall movie season) with a $111 million opening weekend domestically, and $146 million worldwide.
- Given the size of this opening, Beetlejuice 2 has the potential to play all the way through Halloween.
Given all that, I’m personally expecting the film to end with potentially $275-325 million domestically, making it one of the biggest hits of the year in the U.S.
Overseas, where this IP is really not that popular, the film only opened to $35 million, with France and Germany still on the way. Internationally it should end with $100+ million.
So with a potential of $400-450+ million worldwide on a $100 million budget, the film is now guaranteed to earn a very healthy profit theatrically.
Given these returns, I think it would be smart (both financially and creatively) for Warner Brothers and Tim Burton and the cast to make a third film.
And hell, they can even call it “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” next time.
BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT, HERE ARE HOW OTHER FILMS ARE PERFORMING
Second place at the box office this weekend went to Disney/Fox’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which earned another $7 million (-55% from last weekend) for a running total of $613.8 million domestically and $1.287 billion worldwide. Pretty great for a movie that was released 7 weeks ago.
The film is (finally) showing signs of slowing down, but will most likely end now with $625-635 million in the U.S. and $1.33 billion worldwide, as one of the biggest blockbuster smash-hits of the year.
Expect to see both Deadpool and Wolverine return in the next Avengers movie, as aside from Spider-Man, they’re really the only big heroes that Marvel has left.
Third place in the box office went to Showbiz Direct’s Reagan, a squeaky-clean biopic about Ronald Reagan’s life (played by Dennis Quaid) with currently 20% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film earned another $4.8 million in its second weekend (-37% from last weekend) for a total of $18.5 million after two weekends.
Credit for this success goes to older conservative white audiences (65% of the audience is over the age of 55, while 91% of the audience is Caucasian).
The film has a $25 million budget, so it will feasibly turn a profit once it reaches video-on-demand and streaming.
Fourth Place went to Alien: Romulus, which earned another $3.9 million in its 4th weekend (-57% from last weekend) for an ongoing total of $97 million domestically and $315 million worldwide so far.
It’ll likely finish with $100-105 million in the U.S., and $350+ million worldwide (thanks to a stunning $100+ million overperformance in China).
That makes it (unadjusted for inflation) the second biggest film of the Alien series behind Prometheus, both in the U.S. and worldwide, which is a great result on just a $80 million budget, ensuring the film will earn a profit.
Expect Disney/Fox to make another Alien film within the next few years.
Fifth Place went to It Ends With Us, the domestic-abuse drama with Blake Lively, which earned another $3.7 million (-50%) for a running total of $141.3 million domestically and $309 million worldwide so far, a PHENOMENAL return on just a $25 million budget.
Many people in the industry expected this film to open well, just based on how popular the book was, but who could have guessed that this would end with $150+ million domestically and $330-350 million worldwide?
It Ends With Us is now the biggest romance movie of the decade.
I can only hope Hollywood learns the right lessons from this, and tries to make more popular book-to-film adaptations for women, while realizing that Blake Lively is a solid movie star for the right project.
And that’s a wrap on this weekend’s box office!
Beetlejuice 2 has certainly brought the series back to life, signaling a major win for Warner Brothers and an impressive comeback for Tim Burton’s beloved franchise. With its strong debut and audience appeal, it’s clear that the film has captured the interest of the original while drawing in both old and new fans.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the film’s performance and what you’re most excited about in the coming weeks.
Don’t forget to like and subscribe for more updates and insights from the world of cinema. See you next time!
Zan Hollywood Box Office - Analysis Site 
Leave a comment