Warner Bros.’ “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is kicking off the fall box office in a big way with a $41.5 million opening day from 4,575 theaters. That includes $13.5 million from Thursday previews.
With that start, industry estimates have Tim Burton’s sequel meeting independent projections for a $100 million opening. If the rest of the weekend plays out well, Warner Bros. will have claim to only the second $100 million-plus domestic launch ever in the month of September, having earned the first seven years ago with the $123.4 million opening of “It.”
For now, Warner Bros. is keeping its projections slightly below that mark, estimating a domestic opening of $97 million that would still be a success given the film’s $100 million budget before marketing costs.