It: Chapter Two got started in Thursday previews last night and it appears the sequel is in solid horror movie September company in terms of its grosses.
The highly anticipated horror sequel grossed $10.5 million in Thursday night previews from 3,700-plus locations last night. This is the second-biggest preview for a horror movie and September release after, of course, 2017’s It, which grossed $13.5 million.
There are some key differences at play here. Preview shows started earlier for the sequel last night at 5 PM, while the original movie began screenings at 7 PM. There is also a difference in the number of preview locations as well. Chapter Two kicked off at 3,700-plus locations last night while the first film played at 3,500 theaters on its preview night. Chapter Two expands to 4,570 theaters today which is easily the widest September release ever.
For me, the preview number suggests that the sequel won’t match or eclipse the $123.4 million opening of the first film but an opening over $100 million is still possible. Horror movies tend to be very frontloaded and even Warner Bros. is being conservative with its opening prediction of $85 million but we will have to see how the film plays the rest of the weekend.
