Sometimes a sequel takes years to make it to the screen, and by the time the follow-up arrives in theaters, audiences no longer care. Not with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
The long-awaited follow-up to Tim Burton’s beloved 1988 horror comedy struck it big at the box office last weekend. It grossed an impressive $110 million in the U.S. That means that in three days, the sequel has already earned more than the original Beetlejuice did during its entire run in domestic theaters ($74.6 million).
Warner Bros. has spent decades chasing this movie, employing countless writers to try to hatch up a reason to bring Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice back for another film. When they finally figured it out, they also brought back Burton as director and Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara as his human nemeses. The nostalgia act worked in this case; the film is already a huge hit.
The film had relatively little new competition in theaters over the weekend; nothing else grossed more than $10 million. The one other major new release, The Front Room, a more straightforward horror thriller starring Brandy, bombed with just $1.7 million. It only barely snuck into the very last spot on the weekend box office chart.
The number two movie of the weekend was Deadpool & Wolverine, still hanging in theaters after almost two months of release. That film has now made $1.28 billion worldwide, making it the #2 movie of 2024 behind only Inside Out 2.
READ MORE: Every Tim Burton Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best
Here’s the full box office report for the weekend:
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – $110.0 million
- Deadpool & Wolverine – $7.2 million
- Reagan – $5.2 million
- Alien: Romulus – $3.9 million
- It Ends With Us – $3.7 million
- The Force – $2.9 million
- Twisters – $2.2 million
- Blink Twice – $2.1 million
- Despicable Me 4 – $1.8 million
- The Front Room – $1.6 million
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice should continue to hold well at the box office over the next few weeks. The competition is relatively light through September; the other big upcoming movies are Transformers One (September 20) and The Wild Robot (September 27). The next mega-blockbuster on the horizon is the Joker sequel, which is scheduled to debut on October 4.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Easter Eggs: All the References You Missed
Here are all the jokes, callbacks, and homages to the original Beetlejuice (and other movies and TV shows).