It may not be Halloween yet, but “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is looking to scare up a storm this weekend. According to early reports and predictions, this sequel is expected to be a massive success.
With stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara returning for the sequel, the movie is set to captivate fans of the original film eager to return to its nostalgic world. The addition of Jenna Ortega, fresh off her breakout role in “Wednesday,” may also draw in a new generation of viewers.
But will it be enough to be a blockbuster hit? Industry predictions say yes. Deadline projects a global debut as high as $145 million, while Variety offers a more conservative estimate, predicting between $100 million and $110 million. Either way, expectations are high for the follow-up to Tim Burton’s 1988 classic “Beetlejuice.”
Warner Bros, the distributor of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” makes an even more cautious forecast of $80 million. Prediction markets, platforms where users can bet on the outcome of events like box office debuts, also think the movie will be a hit. Polymarket currently predicts a 61% chance that “Beetlejuice 2” will surpass $100 million at the domestic box office during its opening weekend
And people are definitely talking about the movie online. In fact, “Beetlejuice 2” became this week’s most talked about entertainment option.
It would be a huge success for the movie to garner more than $100 million on its first weekend, given its $100 million production budget. It would also be in competition with the largest September movie debuts of all time.
Currently, the “It” movies hold the top two debuts — 2017’s “It” with a $123 million debut and 2019’s “It: Chapter 2” with a $91 million debut. While many predict the movie to perform well, not everyone thinks it will break this month’s record. A prediction market on Polymarket forecasts only a 9% chance the movie will break this record.
But what do the critics say about “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”?
The reviews are slowly trickling in and they are mixed at the moment.
While BBC said the sequel “surpasses the original in almost every respect,” Rolling Stones said “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was a “fine fine sequel, neither a total letdown nor a complete, shout-it-from-the-hills return to form for its creator.” A Kalshi market predicts a 72% chance that the movie will have a higher than 75 Rotten Tomatoes score, but only a 22% chance of it being higher than 80.
And these reviews directly affect the box office performance of a movie. A 2022 research study found a direct correlation between critical reviews and box office revenue. Their research discovered “that critical reviews valence not only directly affects box office revenues but also increases active postings in the community and user reviews volume, thus indirectly leading to greater box office revenues.”
The reviews are a mixed bag for now and the movie won’t have any major competition until “Transformers One” on September 20. Perhaps a lack of competition, nostalgia, and Jenna Ortega, will be enough to lead “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” to becoming a blockbuster hit.
