5 Takeaways from the Success of "It"
Monday, September 18, 2017 at 12:39PM By Spencer Coile
After two short weeks and hundreds of millions of dollars later, It is nothing short of a 2017 phenomenon. I work part-time at a movie theater, and have never witnessed anything quite like It. For instance, in its first weekend alone, I worked through seventeen showings of It, where all seventeen sold out -- the last show selling out so quickly, there was still a line outside and wrapped around the building. And my little theater in Indiana is no outlier: Muschietti's dance with a devilish clown has already coughed up $218 million in its first two weeks (earning back its entire budget in one day). And considering the film's genre and its R-rating, this is wholly unprecedented.
This has led many (myself included) to ask: what did Muschietti and the entire production team for It do right?
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05. People love to be spooked in September.
Common wisdom has it that the best time to release a good ol' fashioned horror film is October -- right before Halloween. However, releasing It in mid-September was a terrific idea. Not only had there been a box office drought for weeks, (nothing could top the July success of Spider-Man: Homecoming or Dunkirk), but this gives It more time to earn money before interest in holiday scares fades on November 1st. And now It has raised the bar for 2017 spooky movies that will inevitably follow... and inevitably pale in comparison.
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04. Marketing is everything.
For months, we have been bombarded with red balloons. We have seen scary clown after scary clown. We have been reminded of the original mini-series for It. And like any movie, these methods were utilized in order to get people hyped for the latest foray into Pennywise the clown. Customers at the theater where I work would constantly ask if they were going to receive complimentary red balloons, others said they noticed ballons floating around outside the theater. It went so far as red balloons popping up in public spaces (like the one seen above). Not only did this generate buzz, but it started creeping people out. And we already know how people love to be scared.
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03. Pennywise is the gay icon we never knew we needed (or wanted).
"The Babadook is a gay icon" meme really took off this summer. And while the joke got old relatively early in its popularity, the release of It immediately had people reigniting the conversation. After all, it is not everyday that a queer horror villain comes along for people celebrate. Therefore, Pennywise joins the Babadook as an Internet gay sensation -- with many clamoring to say that the two were a couple, feeding on poor, innocent children.
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02. Never underestimate the power of a hot clown.
2017 is the year of "hot takes": Everybody has something to say, and everybody has something to say about those who have something to say. And while think pieces are popping up about... well, everything, one that was popular this summer was about Bill Skarsgård, the Swedish actor playing Pennywise. "Whoa! Did you notice that Pennywise was kinda hot??" Indeed, because he plays a creepy, sadistic clown, people assumed that the actor behind all of that make-up would be equally unbecoming and menacing. Lo and behold, he is a dreamboat. People are quick to eat that up.
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01. Nostalgia sells.
As we have learned from the success of Stranger Things (also starring actor Finn Wolfhard), genre pieces with plucky kids at the forefront of the narrative really perform, and perform well. Clearly, It is no exception. And while many are quick to nitpick that nostalgia does not a good film make, others will dive back into a spooky, if not dated world -- if only to watch that sparkle between child actors, the sort found in classic 80s films like E.T. or Stand by Me. Mix in the horror elements, and you've got a concoction that entices its audience with scares and jump back into the past.
It truly became an anomaly quickly. Horror movies sell well, but never seen this well . When you consider the last movie that had the success of It at the movie theater, Beauty and the Beast, it becomes abundantly clear that Pennywise the clown and his creepy scares is a bona-fide phenomenon.
Reader Comments (20)
I loved the Stand by Me aspect...the kids were great actors and it was easy to get invested in their friendships.
The director is a compatriot of mine and utterly unknown here. About the film: it's fine. But it's more about bonding than terror, to me. The Stand By Me comparisons are apt. I wish it would not be so self-consiously "80s". IMO that's a bit regressive for a genre that's been giving major step forwards as of late. We already have Stranger Things to homage the 80s, right? And that's on TV!
Pennywise is a gay "icon" no one thought that in 1990 and who thinks that now,I didn't get anything gay about the movie villain,it's all silly internet noise.
Yeah, I am cool with the Babadook, but Pennywise ain't no icon, mmkay?
Call me a spoilsport but the whole Pennywise is a gay icon was just utter nonsense and silly for me. Not in a ha ha way.
I saw it yesterday and figured it wouldn't live to the hype, and I was already familiar with the source material (enough to know why I'll be avoiding the sequel).
With that, it was FAR better and scarier than I thought it would be. The marketing was smart; yes, they released longer trailers shortly before the release, but they did a good job of using a "less is more" approach (see also: the excellent trailer for the most recent Godzilla remake).
Another feat that I haven't seen mentioned is, some of the child actors aaside, there is no one famous in the movie. All of the adults are character actors without any familiarity (at least for myself). This adds to the tension in that the parents are just as distant to us, the audience, as they are to the children.
#NotMyGayIcon
I was so unexpectedly taken with Bill Skarsgard's performance - so funny and confident in not overselling his terrifying aspects. I originally thought this could have been a huge hit in the summer, but having no competition in early Sept paid off
This is a rare case of a movie that was perfect to remake: has a strong nostalgic following but which also kind of sucks and has a lot of room for improvement. You get the pre-installed fan base but don't have the pressure of re-creating and improving on a legit classic.
I'm not sure how or why the internet decided to deem horror-movie villains who prey on kids gay icons, but considering the decades we've spent combatting the perception of us as child sexual predators, I need folks to be a lot less reckless. This icon stuff is neither cute nor funny.
Don't forget a great trailer. The first trailer for this was astounding and it was viewed on youtube so many times. That really helped drive the hype up for it.
If feels more like an action film than a horror film- it's "Stand by Me vs The Evil Clown" I totally agree with Troy H- I really did not get a the Babadook as gay icon nonsense- now that it a real horror movie
I'm confused Why Pennywise is a gay icon? It does not make sense in my opinion. Is a clown that kills children a gay icon? Really.
Pennywise is only a gay icon because all of the kids will be Slutty Pennywise for Halloween this year. Otherwise, no. First of all, Pennywise is only a manifestation of It in the first place!
Who decides what is a gay icon these days? Penny Wise is some sort of shape shifting evil creature that uses manipulation to trap children and kill them! Yeah that sounds really "gay" to me!
I find it rather telling that you ask the question "what did Muschietti and the entire production team for It do right?" and then give answers that have absolutely nothing to do with the filmmaking or the actual quality of that mess.
@Willy, I thought the same thing! The month of September, word-of-mouth marketing, Pennywise-as-gay icon (barf), fuckable clowns, and America's '80s fetish have little to nothing to do with the director and his crew.
Re chofer,
I too noticed that the film was very active in throwing in some pop culture elements that dated it to the 1980s. I have it a feeling it was because the original novel was set in 1958/1985, which meant the film wants to show off the fact that it was "modernized." I wonder if it was in a way to cash in on the retro 80s culture after the success of Stranger Things.
marketing and the fact that fucking clowns were appearing on street corners last year. AHS even has evil clowns now. So did Bojack Horseman. Clowns are in I guess? And I dont at all understand the concept of how gay icons get selected. Although I will admit this Pennywise seems a little more....erm...fabulous than the last.
Ajnrules, I think the '80s stuff also helped broaden its appeal.
Older millennials are born in 1986, meaning our parents hypothetically were born in the '50s and read the book when it first came out. I'm interested to see if the sequel, being set in modern times, will lose what charm there is to be had in the story because of this.