And thus begins the start of spooky season! Halloween is next month, but fans of ghosts and ghouls are able to start getting their fix with the release of Tim Burton‘s long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which was 36 years in the making. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was in development hell for decades before it finally got made. In 1990, Jonathan Gems was hired to write a sequel that was going to be titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. Burton considered having Daniel Waters rewrite that script. Pamela Norris did rewrite it, and Warner Bros. offered Kevin Smith the chance to do another rewrite. He turned it down. Seth Grahame-Smith was hired to write and produce a new version of a sequel in 2011. Mike Vukadinovich was brought on to rewrite his script in 2017.
With all the numerous script revisions that went into making sure the sequel could lovingly match the original, Tim Burton would admit he still would go back to his roots and improvise the film during production. The payoff seems to be working well so far as the buzz has been positive and Deadline reports that the ghost with the most returns to theaters with a $12 million early Thursday box office gross. Comparatively, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opened with numbers that resemble the 2017 horror hit IT, which would open with $13.5 million in early numbers and holds the record for the biggest September opening with $123.4 million.
The reviews for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice are mainly positive with a certified fresh Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus of 75% and an audience score of 85%. Our own Chris Bumbray giddily said in his review, “Truth be told, I was wary of a Beetlejuice sequel, as I figured they should leave well enough alone after thirty-six years. But, once Danny Elfman’s score kicked in, and I got a look at returning production designer Bo Welch’s sets, I was all in on a sequel I had a total blast with. This one is a very pleasant surprise. Here’s hoping this isn’t the last time Burton says Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.”
Are you excited about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice? Will you be seeing it this weekend?