Photo: The Canadian Press This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Michael Keaton in a scene from "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice." (Parisa Taghizadeh/Warner Bros.
Pictures via AP) After 36 years of waiting, the juice is finally loose again in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” this time racking up $110 million in its premiere weekend. The long-awaited Tim Burton sequel is the third-best opening weekend of the year, only behind box office triumphs “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Michael Keaton returns as the titular spirit and Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder also reprise their roles as Delia and Lydia Deetz, with newcomer Jenna Ortega playing the latter’s daughter, Astrid.
Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci and Justin Theroux round out the cast. The Warner Bros. sequel is the second-highest grossing September movie of all time, only behind 2017’s “It,” which opened with a staggering $123 million.
The 2019 sequel “It Chapter 2” opened with $91 million and previously held the No. 2 spot for September openings. The original “Beetlejuice” film earned a mere $8 million in its opening weekend in 1988, unadjusted for inflation, but went on to make $77 million in theaters domestically as it became a cult classic.
“There’s life in the afterlife,” said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. “Many things have to happen simultaneously and all the stars are aligning.” Goldstein, who confirmed the film's budget of $100 million, said t.