IT is Now the Highest Grossing Horror Movie of All Time

IT has just passed the $500 million mark at the worldwide box office making it the highest-grossing movie of all time, not adjusted for inflation.

IT has done remarkably well. Not only did it receive positive reviews from critics, but movie goers have also responded unprecedentedly well to Andy Muschietti’s film. Stephen King’s original novel was adapted as a miniseries back in the 1980s, however it was never made into a feature length movie, and Warner Bros.’s horror flick has now surpassed $500 million at the worldwide box office, knocking The Exorcist off the top spot, which held the record for a mind-boggling 44 years with a grand total $441 million.

William Friedkin’s picture came out in 1973, which makes its worldwide box office even more impressive. Films just didn’t make that amount of money back in those days. Even though technically IT has made more money than The Exorcist, that number isn’t adjusted for inflation. It’s worldwide box office takings adjusted for inflation would be over $983 million, and even though that might be a tall number for Muschietti’s film to hit, never say never.

Andy Muschietti directing IT

The film’s success at the box office has come as a bit of a surprise and the film has broken many other records, including the record for the biggest opening weekend for a horror movie in over 30 markets. The horror film has made over $272 million in the US and $21 million in the UK. All of this success has come before the film’s release in Germany, Italy, and Japan, so their’s even more money to come in. And we haven’t even factored in future Blu-ray sales and possible streaming deals Warner Bros. might sign.

For more on Warner Bros.’s horror hit, you can check out our review of Muschietti’s record breaking movie, as well as our article on why Bill Skarsgård would make a perfect Joker. If you loved the film as much as we did, then you’ll also be happy to hear that IT: Chapter 2 will coming to cinemas in September 2019, so not too long to wait for more terrifying Pennywise action.