It has been a horrible year so far at the North American box office but horror king Stephen King may just help banish the fears for the rest of 2019.

A robust audience turned out to catch It: Chapter Two - based on a King novel - in theatres over the weekend.

Warner said It: Chapter Two earned an estimated US$91 million (S$126 million) from North American ticket sales in its first weekend.

Trailing only its predecessor that debuted to a record US$123.4 million in September 2017, the launch of It: Chapter Two is the second highest opening for a horror film ever and the month of September, which before It was not a strong month for blockbusters.

It: Chapter Two brings the Losers Club back to Derry 27 years later to take on demonic clown Pennywise.

After a downbeat summer for the industry as a whole and a year that is still running 6 per cent off, It: Chapter Two is a promising start to the fall movie season.

There are high hopes that another movie adaptation of a King novel - Doctor Sleep - will also provide a lifeline when it screens in theatres on Nov 8.

The sequel to The Shining (both King's 1977 book and director Stanley Kubrick's 1980 movie adaptation) follows a grown-up Danny Torrance who continues to deal with the psychological trauma inflicted upon him by his father Jack.

A trailer, which was released last week, has already vetted appetites among King fans, which suggests a box-office smash for the movie that should further help Hollywood bigwigs lose less sleep over the health of their industry.