'It,' terrorising box-office rivals, sets horror-flick record

Stephen King wrote It. Warner Bros. and New Line made It. And audiences seem to love It.

The new freaky-scary film by that title broke records over the weekend as the largest September opening and largest opening for an R-rated horror film in North American theaters, industry websites reported Sunday.



It, starring Bill Skarsgard as a creepy clown who terrorises children in a sleepy Maine town, pulled in an estimated $117 million for the three-day weekend, website Exhibitor Relations reported. The movie, from Argentine director Andy Muschietti, comes amid one of the slowest cinematic summers in years - and likely would have done better but for the impact of Hurricane Irma on Florida moviegoers.

Coming in second - but left far back in the dust by It - was another new release, Home Again from Open Road Films, with a take of just $9 million. The romantic comedy has Reese Witherspoon unexpectedly finding herself living with three young men after a separation from her husband.

In third was a movie that had clung to a box-office lead for three straight weeks, The Hitman's Bodyguard from Lionsgate, which netted $4.9 million. The action comedy stars Ryan Reynolds as a bodyguard hired to protect a notorious hitman played by Samuel L. Jackson.

Next was another Warner Bros. horror film, Annabelle: Creation, which took in $4 million. It is part of the popular Conjuring series of movies.



And in fifth was Wind River from the Weinstein Co., at $3.2 million. It stars Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen as federal agents trying to solve a murder on an Indian reservation.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

Leap! ($2.5 million)

Spider-Man: Homecoming ($2 million)

Dunkirk ($2 million)

Logan Lucky ($1.8 million)

The Emoji Movie ($1 million)

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