Given the mixed results legacy sequels have gotten, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice easily could have been relegated to box office purgatory. Luckily, it totally possessed the box office during its opening weekend — and for good reason.
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00:00Given the mixed results legacy sequels have gotten, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice easily could
00:05have been relegated to box office purgatory.
00:07Luckily, it totally possessed the box office during its opening weekend, and for good reason.
00:14Deadpool and Wolverine has dominated the top of the box office charts ever since it came
00:18out on July 26, except for a brief reprieve when Alien Romulus was number one in its opening
00:23weekend.
00:24But with those sci-fi epics gradually running out of steam and nothing else particularly
00:29significant opening on September 6, it was only natural for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
00:34to clean house.
00:35The film took in $110 million domestically in its opening weekend, with an extra $35
00:41million from overseas, bringing its total global gross so far to $145 million.
00:47The horror-comedy sequel got off to a spectacular start in Wednesday and Thursday night previews,
00:53bringing in $12 million before it even officially came out on Friday.
00:57Those preview numbers put it on par with Dune Part II from earlier this year.
01:01As it stands, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice now has the second-highest domestic opening weekend
01:06of any film ever released in September, topped only by 2017's It at $123 million.
01:13Funny enough, the previous second-place finish was held by another sequel, It Chapter 2,
01:18which earned $91 million during its opening frame in September 2019.
01:23After 36 years, the original Beetlejuice still holds up on a rewatch.
01:28Gen Xers can appreciate the darker elements of the movie, while still enjoying the film's
01:32most hilarious moments.
01:34Millennials may have been a bit younger when they were introduced to this goofy depiction
01:37of the afterlife, which may very well have informed the generation's largely darker sense
01:41of humor.
01:42Plus, depending on how old you were when you first saw it, frightening images like Adam
01:46and Barbara stretching out their faces to try and scare the deets may have scarred you
01:50for life.
01:51The original film is also a product of its time.
01:54For instance, Beetlejuice isn't the most appropriate demon around.
01:57"...Am I overstepping my bounds?
01:58Just tell me, come on."
01:59That also applies to the visual effects, which occasionally show their age.
02:03But stop-motion animation is always going to be a welcome sight to see in any movie,
02:07and the costumes and makeup make for a colorful and vibrant afterlife.
02:12Then there's the influence of Tim Burton.
02:14His filmography, particularly his earlier work, has made an impact on countless viewers
02:18and filmmakers.
02:20Movies like Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and The Nightmare Before Christmas help to
02:24reimagine the fields of horror, fantasy, and animation.
02:28In turn, his interpretation of Batman redefined the character, the superhero genre, and the
02:33definition of a Hollywood blockbuster.
02:35Nearly four decades later, Beetlejuice remains the signature film of the Tim Burton brand.
02:41It makes sense that anyone who grew up with the 1988 movie Beetlejuice would turn out
02:45to see the sequel on its opening weekend.
02:48However, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice might have also grossed so much money thanks in part
02:52to Gen Z coming out.
02:54Curiously, it seems many Gen Zers love the pinstriped, suit-wearing demon thanks to Beetlejuice
02:58the Musical.
02:59The show opened on Broadway in 2019, and despite negative reviews from some prominent critics,
03:05it ended up being a huge smash.
03:07This was likely driven by an onslaught of younger theatergoers, with the Los Angeles
03:11Times noting that the musical placed greater emphasis on Lydia as a stronger protagonist.
03:16The publication stated,
03:17"...this Lydia resonates with younger audiences, not because she drops hollow buzzwords but
03:22rather because she is wholly realized as a Gen Z protagonist — clever, socially aware,
03:27reasonably nihilistic, and emotionally honest."
03:30If one was on TikTok around 2019 and the beginning of 2020, they may have been greeted with numerous
03:36videos of Gen Zers dancing and lip-syncing to some of the musical numbers, particularly
03:40Say My Name.
03:42Trends such as this one prove that Beetlejuice, as an idea, goes beyond any single generation,
03:47and has continued to find audiences in a variety of mediums.
03:51You might assume Beetlejuice Beetlejuice would be a natural for an October release date to
03:55play up its macabre vibes, but opening the film at the beginning of September may be
03:59an incredibly fortuitous move for its total box office haul.
04:03As SlashFilm box office expert Ryan Scott pointed out, it gets to hang around all the
04:07way until Halloween, giving it nearly two months to reasonably make its money.
04:11Scott also noted,
04:12"...September is often an abandoned month by Hollywood, and the right movie can make
04:16use of that."
04:17Other than the front room, nothing else really opened alongside Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,
04:22which was likely a smart move.
04:24The sequel should have a good run in the weeks ahead.
04:26While Speak No Evil arrives on September 13th as an R-rated horror flick, it probably won't
04:31draw as big of a crowd as something the whole family can see.
04:34The 2024 summer movie season got off to quite a rocky start, with both The Fall Guy and
04:39Furiosa losing a ton of money.
04:41"...You two break my heart."
04:44However, thanks to hits like Deadpool and Wolverine, Alien Romulus, and now Beetlejuice
04:48Beetlejuice, things are looking much better for the theatrical experience as we head into
04:53the Fall.
04:54It's been 36 years since people last saw the Deets family and their demon, so fans were
04:59almost certainly itching to revisit these beloved characters.
05:02Of course, Michael Keaton is back as Beetlejuice, returning on the condition that the freelance
05:07bio-exorcist wouldn't be used more than necessary.
05:10This is keeping with the original film, in which the larger-than-life ghost only has
05:14about 17 minutes of screen time.
05:16For its part, the sequel also utilizes the character judiciously, focusing more on the
05:20interpersonal relationships between three generations of Deets' women.
05:24Speaking of which, it's not every day people get to see Winona Ryder in a new movie.
05:28Despite being in high demand throughout the 1990s in films like Edward Scissorhands and
05:33Bram Stoker's Dracula, most people these days probably know her best as Joyce Byers on Stranger
05:37Things.
05:38Additionally, Lydia remains a beloved goth icon, and those who grew up watching her as
05:42a rebellious teenager now get the chance to see her as a mom trying to connect with her
05:47daughter.
05:48"...Death is hard."
05:49"...Yeah, sometimes I think life is harder."
05:52Katherine O'Hara is always welcome on our screens, and she returns as Delia Deets.
05:57O'Hara has generated a lot of goodwill as of late, thanks to playing Moira Rose on Schitt's
06:01Creek.
06:02Some folks are missing, like Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, but there's enough of the
06:06original cast to make it worth the trip to the theater to see these iconic characters
06:10once more.
06:12Jenna Ortega has gone through a drastic transformation from Disney Channel star to certified Scream
06:17Queen.
06:18She's frequently listed as one of the young stars taking Hollywood by storm, with Ryan
06:22Scott saying,
06:23Ortega ensured that this sequel wasn't purely a nostalgia play.
06:26It gave younger audience members a way in.
06:28It also certainly helped in terms of getting the movie play on social media, as well as
06:33with the press tour.
06:34Spooky Projects certainly seems to be in Ortega's wheelhouse at the moment.
06:37She was a big part of the two most recent Scream movies, and this is her second collaboration
06:42with director Tim Burton, who spearheaded Netflix's Wednesday.
06:45Ortega is a big draw for Gen Z, as Scott stated,
06:49since she brings a level of authenticity and often uses her platform to speak out on larger
06:53social issues.
06:55It's similar to what drew Gen Z to Lydia in the Beetlejuice musical, and Ortega seems
06:59refreshingly real as opposed to creating a fake persona suitable for social media.
07:04Of course, not every movie starring Ortega has done well at the box office.
07:08Just look at Miller's Girl, a controversial erotic thriller that only recently blew up
07:12on Netflix.
07:13Beetlejuice!
07:14Beetlejuice! plays into Ortega's strengths and sensibilities, so it's not particularly
07:17surprising that people wanting to see her carry on the deed's legacy.
07:22Tim Burton has amassed legions of fans over the years.
07:25After making a name for himself throughout the 1980s and 90s, his output has decreased
07:29in recent years, with his last film being 2019's live-action Dumbo.
07:34Burton actually stated that he believed Dumbo would be his last Disney movie, saying,
07:38"...I realized that I was Dumbo, that I was working in this horrible big circus, and I
07:43needed to escape."
07:44That movie is quite autobiographical at a certain level.
07:47Since then, Burton has directed four episodes of Netflix's Wednesday, in addition to producing
07:52the show.
07:53But it's been a while since fans have seen a proper Burton movie on the big screen.
07:56Combine that with the fact that Beetlejuice is arguably the most iconic Tim Burton character
08:00ever, and it feels like a slam dunk that gives people the opportunity to see what else a
08:05filmmaker has up his sleeve.
08:07"...The juice is loose."
08:08Audiences may be lucky they got a new Tim Burton movie at all.
08:11The director admitted to Empire that he was burnt out on making films, but Wednesday reignited
08:17his passion.
08:18He was drawn to direct Beetlejuice Beetlejuice to his connection to Lydia.
08:21He explained,
08:22"...It was a character that I understood, that I felt very strongly about.
08:26What happened to Lydia?
08:27You know, what happens to people?
08:28What happens to all of us?
08:30What's your journey from a gothic kind of weird teenager to what happens to you 35 years
08:34later?"
08:36Filmmaking technology has come a long way since 1988.
08:39When news of a new Beetlejuice movie came around, some fans wondered whether CGI would
08:43replace practical visual effects.
08:45Unfortunately, those fears were alleviated when the trailer came out, and showed that
08:49the same aesthetic from the first film would be implemented in the sequel.
08:53For example, the shot of the sandworm indicated that stop-motion animation would still have
08:57a role in this movie.
08:59There's undoubtedly some CGI used throughout the movie, but adhering to the same look as
09:03the first film only increases the nostalgic appeal.
09:06Burton explained to Entertainment Weekly why it had to be that way, saying,
09:10"...It needed a back-to-basics, handmade quality.
09:13It's re-energized why I love making movies.
09:15There's no denying that the sequel looks completely different from anything else in
09:19theaters at the moment, which could also explain why audiences are flocking to see it."
09:24Plenty of legacy sequels have come out over the past few years, and while it's one thing
09:28to follow up a beloved property, it's another thing entirely for it to actually be good.
09:33Some like Jurassic World Dominion made a lot of money despite poor reviews, but when a
09:37legacy sequel actually does a good job of continuing its story, it's a win for everyone.
09:42Take a look at the box office success of Top Gun Maverick for How to Do the Concept Right,
09:47and it appears the Beetlejuice sequel has achieved that same goal.
09:50Rotten Tomatoes critics overwhelmingly agreed that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was a worthy
09:54endeavor, and as of three days into its wide release, the film has a 77% positive rating
10:00from critics and 82% from general audiences on the platform.
10:04While some reviewers criticized the scattershot plot, it earned high marks for its nostalgia
10:09and for bringing back Michael Keaton as the ghost with the most.
10:13That's probably more than enough for audiences who wanted to watch something entertaining
10:16this past weekend, to the point where they could overlook any flaws and just enjoy the
10:20wild ride.
10:22It's understandable why studios would be interested in legacy sequels as a concept.
10:26Nostalgia is all the rage, so if you can make a follow-up to a movie that came out 20 or
10:3030 years ago, especially with some original cast members attached, people should flock
10:35to theaters.
10:36Again, just look at Top Gun or the Jurassic World and Scream franchises.
10:39However, 2024's legacy sequel contributions have seen more mixed results.
10:45"...legacy characters.
10:46Not quite a reboot, not quite a sequel."
10:48Ghostbusters Frozen Empire brought back Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson from
10:52the original film and ended up grossing a little over $200 million globally against
10:57the $100 million budget.
10:59It's not terrible, but isn't a standout success, either.
11:02Twisters is a far more intriguing case study, as it doesn't include any original actors,
11:07instead focusing on a new crop of tornado chasers led by Glenn Powell and Daisy Edgar
11:12Jones.
11:13Despite this difference, the film was grossed well over $360 million worldwide, and counting.
11:19With a stellar opening weekend, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice looks like it will perform closer
11:23to Twisters than Ghostbusters in terms of financial success.
11:27Of course, the film didn't accomplish this with nostalgia alone.
11:30There needs to be something else, whether it's a good story, a beloved character, or
11:34an emphasis on a certain visual style.
11:37Beetlejuice Beetlejuice had a perfect mix of factors to make it a hit, and it's bound
11:40to make the prospect of a third Beetlejuice attractive to Warner Bros.