"It," Andy Muschietti's film adaptation of the Stephen King novel, has taken both critics and audiences by storm. As of Wednesday afternoon, the film has an IMDb user score of 8.0/10 and a Metascore of 70, considered "positive" by the website Metacritic. IT's not much of a surprise that "It" has found it's way to success, as King's novels have been adapted into countless hit films in the past ("Stand by Me," "The Shawshank Redemption," and "The Shining," just to name a few), but what may be surprising is that "It" is now set to become the highest domestic grossing horror film of all time—according to The Wrap, "It" is expected to set the record as soon as Wednesday night.
'It' set to pass 'The Exorcist'
"It" is currently sitting at $228.4 million in domestic gross revenue, and it pulled in $4.2 million on Monday and $5.3 million on Tuesday. As a result, it seems likely that it will be able to generate enough revenue to pass the all-time-best mark of $232.9 million, currently held by "The Exorcist," in the very near future—and possibly by Wednesday night.
A 1973 classic featuring Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn and a haunting performance from a teenage Linda Blair, "The Exorcist" generated $193 million upon its initial release and then another $39.9 million across two director's-cut releases in 2000 and 2010.
"It" doesn't stand out merely among other horror films—it is also expected to become just the fourth R-rated film to surpass $300 million domestically (joining "The Passion of the Christ," "Deadpool," and "American Sniper"), according to The Wrap.
Hitting that number would also easily allow it to pass "Gravity" (which generated $274 million in domestic gross revenue) as the highest-grossing October release of all time.
What's next for 'It'?
Andy Muschietti has been the sole director of just two feature films ("It" and "Mama"), according to IMDb, but thanks to his sensational work on "It," he is already listed on IMDb as the director of a sequel: "It: Chapter Two." There isn't much information in regard to the sequel.
According to IMDb, just three people are currently attached to the project: Muschietti, screenwriter Gary Dauberman, who received a credit for the "It" screenplay, and Bill Skarsgard, who starred as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the first film. "It: Chapter Two" will reportedly take place 27 years after the first film, when the main characters of "It" are brought back together.
There aren't any clues as to when an "It" sequel may hit theaters. Muschietti is slated to direct a film adaptation of the video game "Shadow of the Colossus," so it doesn't seem that he'll be going straight back to work on the "It" franchise. But as of now, it appears that the countless fans who loved "It" in theaters will get more of "It" at some point in the future.
