K.T Simpson
Warner Bros. Pictures’ and New Line Cinema’s horror thriller film “IT” has smashed box office records, soaring to the #1 grossing horror film of all-time in both Australia and New Zealand for an opening weekend.
The 2017 film, directed by Andy Muschietti and based on the hugely popular Stephen King novel of the same name, has reached a mammoth $7.47 million at the Australian box office, more than doubling the opening weekend of the THE CONJURING 2 (2016) on $3.52 million.
“IT” has also surpassed the box office 2017 opening weekends for DC tentpole WONDER WOMAN ($6.78 million) and the Christopher Nolan directed DUNKIRK ($6 million).
In New Zealand, the film amassed $1.2 million, rocketing “IT” into the top 20 for the highest grossing opening weekend Warner Bros. films of all-time.
ABOUT “IT”
When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.
“IT” stars Bill Skarsgård (“Allegiant,” TV’s “Hemlock Grove”) as the story’s central villain, Pennywise. An ensemble of young actors also star in the film, including Jaeden Lieberher (“Midnight Special”), Jeremy Ray Taylor (“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip”), Sophia Lillis (“37”), Finn Wolfhard (TV’s “Stranger Things”), Wyatt Oleff (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Chosen Jacobs (upcoming “Cops and Robbers”), Jack Dylan Grazer (“Tales of Halloween”), Nicholas Hamilton (“Captain Fantastic”) and Jackson Robert Scott, making his film debut.
Muschietti directed “IT” from a screenplay by Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman, based on the novel by King. Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Barbara Muschietti are the producers, with Dave Neustadter, Walter Hamada, Richard Brener, Toby Emmerich, Marty P. Ewing, Doug Davison, Jon Silk and Niija Kuykendall serving as executive producers. The film was released in Australia and New Zealand on September 7th 2017, and is being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Entertainment Company.
QUICK FACTS
Australian records:
• Biggest all-time September opening weekend.
• Biggest opening weekend for a WB film in 2017.
• Biggest all-time opening weekend for a horror film.
• 6th Biggest opening weekend in 2017.
• 22nd all-time WARNER BROS. opening weekend
• More than double the opening weekend of CONJURING 2
New Zealand records:
• 2nd Biggest all-time September opening weekend, behind CHARLIE & THE COCOLATE FACTORY (2005): $1.29m.
• 3rd Biggest opening weekend for a Warner Bros. film in 2017 (DUNKIRK $1.46M; WONDER WOMAN $1.35m).
• Biggest all-time opening weekend for a horror film.
• 6th Biggest opening weekend in 2017.
• 19th all-time Warner Bros. opening weekend.
