When IT was first announced as an in-development title from Warner Bros., many fans of the original novel hoped it would be a solid adaptation of the source material from Stephen King. However, King’s adaptations are always real hit or miss. Either they’re amazing or just plain awful, and we had no way of knowing just how IT would turn out. It’s an incredibly long book, and with that, there was a lot of material that could have been messed up.

Fast forward to today, and IT sits on Rotten Tomatoes at a solid 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Between the great new take on Pennywise the Clown from Bill Skarsgård, and the amazing chemistry between the kids who portray the Losers Club, there was a lot for fans and non-fans alike to cling onto.

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And cling on they did. So far, after three weeks at the box office, the film has now cracked a whopping $500 million worldwide.

“Crossing $500 million is rarified air for any film, but for a horror film it is history-making, and we could not be prouder,” said Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Warner Bros said. “The filmmakers and cast did more than make a box office hit; they created a communal, must-see moviegoing event that has reverberated around the globe and is still going strong. We congratulate Andy Muschietti, the extraordinary producing team, and everyone involved in IT on reaching this amazing milestone.”

While it is an amazing milestone, this doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise after the amazing opening it had. Expectations several weeks prior to the film’s release were set around $60 million, but following the first Thursday, that skyrocketed to $90-$100 million. However, even those estimates fell short of the $120 million-plus opening it had, and it’s gone one to break many horror and R-rated records.

Considering the $35 million budget, this is a project that’s basically like printing free money for Warner Bros. It was a relatively small investment — especially given the name recognition of the property — and with the film now making more than 14 times its cost, we’re sure Warner Bros. is happy they have a sequel to produce for 2019.

Even more insane is that the film still has a few markets to open in on the worldwide front, with Germany, Italy, and Japan still on its slate. When all said and done, we wouldn’t be surprised if it broke $600 million, but we think it breaking The Sixth Sense’s $672 million worldwide cume would still be quite the gargantuan task indeed. But, with Halloween still on the horizon, it may very well get a second wind at the box office.

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SOURCE: Variety