'IT' Crushes Thursday Night Box Office

The 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King's IT made its box office debut with a huge $13.5 million Thursday night and has already crushed several records, including the largest horror pre-show gross ever, the largest R-rated preview as well as the largest September preview and the largest preview for a film based on a King novel, Variety reports.

The preview is also the third-largest for 2017, following Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which earned $17 million, and Beauty and the Beast, with $16.3 million.

The film is expected to enjoy a massive opening weekend and is projected to earn at least $65 million at 4,103 theaters.

It is based on Stephen King's infamous novel, which follows a group of kids living in the fictional town of Derry, Maine as they attempt to save their city from a monster who takes the form of a clown.

The movie will likely crush the previous best September opening record, set by Hotel Transylvania 2 in 2015 with $48.5 million, as well as the biggest opening by a horror or supernatural film, which is currently held by 2011's Paranormal Activity 3 with $52.6 million.

The film's numbers are a welcome sight for the North American box office, which had fallen 6.5% as of Sept. 6.

Photo Credit: New Line Cinema