Beetlejuice sequel scores $143m in North American debut
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Michael Keaton plays a ghost who haunts a family in a fictional Connecticut town in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
PHOTO: WBEI
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LOS ANGELES – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a sequel to the spooky 1988 hit comedy movie, brought in US$110 million (S$143 million) in ticket sales in its North American opening over the weekend, drawing in younger filmgoers as well as those nostalgic about the original picture.
The Warner Bros Discovery film exceeded the studio’s expectations – it had forecast US$90 million in box-office receipts going into the weekend.
The new film features returning cast members Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, as well as younger actors such as Wednesday (2022 to present) star Jenna Ortega.
Keaton, 73, plays a ghost who haunts a family in a fictional Connecticut town. Like the original, the new picture was directed by American film-maker Tim Burton and features a whimsical take on the supernatural.
It was expected to appeal more to families than the typical Halloween horror fare, said Mr Shawn Robbins, an analyst with Box Office Theory. Some fans of the earlier film came to cinemas last week in costume.
The strong showing is good news for American cinemas still struggling to recover from both the pandemic and strikes by actors and writers in 2023 that limited film production.
Despite hits such as Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine, the summer season in 2024 generated domestic ticket sales of about US$3.67 billion, according to Comscore. That was 10.2 per cent below 2023 and 15.4 per cent below 2019.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice helps kick off an autumn season that will include Joker: Folie A Deux, also from Warner Bros, in October.
The studio promoted Beetlejuice Beetlejuice heavily, with companies including Progressive Insurance and CarMax producing ads tied to the picture. Apparel, jewellery and other consumer products are also being marketed. And there is a live experience in Los Angeles.
Mr Jeffrey Goldstein, who leads domestic theatrical distribution at Warner Bros, said the company’s cable TV networks also lent a hand in the promotions, including a themed baking contest on the Food Network and a Discovery Channel spot featuring singing sharks.
The film “just sort of lends itself to this funny stuff”, he said in an interview. “There is life in the afterlife.” Bloomberg
