‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ scares up $13 million in Thursday night sneaks

September 6, 2024September 7, 2024

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ scares up million in Thursday night sneaks

Warner Bros. Pictures

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice officially opens Friday, Sept. 6, but it’s already drawing crowds.

According to Deadline, the movie starring Michael Keaton, Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe and Winona Ryder scared up $13 million in sneak previews on Thursday.

That’s impressive by itself, but especially because Keaton’s “Ghost with the most” hasn’t haunted theaters since the 1988 original.

While Warner Bros. is predicting the movie will do $90 million over the weekend, the trade suspects the studio is being conservative — some experts speculate the film could pull in as much as $110 million worldwide, making it one of the biggest September openings of all time.

For the record, 2017’s Stephen King adaptation It holds the September crown: It opened to $123 million.

That said, Tim Burton‘s Beetlejuice sequel’s Thursday night sneaks were only half a million behind It‘s sneaks.

‘The Penguin’ takes a deep dive into the classic Batman villain

Macall Polay/HBO

It’s time to delve deeper into the psyche of The Batman villain The Penguin. The new series The Penguin debuts Thursday on HBO.

It takes place in the universe of Robert Pattinson‘s The Batman, and show creator Lauren LeFranc tells ABC Audio that its themes go way beyond the criminal in the comic books.

She says, “There’s a lot of themes about, you know, family and trauma and masculinity, and really a deeper examination overall as to what makes a monster and why do we engage with people who might be charming, but also really problematic and have darker sides to themselves.”

LeFranc says the series picks up a week after the events of The Batman, with a damaged Gotham City flooded as a result of The Riddler blowing up the seawall.

“Carmine Falcone, you know, very large, larger-than-life crime boss in The Batman, is dead,” she continues. “And that has sort of created a power vacuum. And Oz Cobb, played by Colin Farrell, seeks to fill it.”

What you won’t see in The Penguin is Pattinson’s Batman, which LeFranc hopes won’t be that big of a deal.

“I totally understand why people would want to see Batman or think that they would want to see Batman. You know, to me, I hope by the end of our show people don’t feel that way. They feel like we’ve serviced really interesting, engaging characters and that this show can stand on its own in that regard,” she shares.

Adds LeFranc, “I mean, of course we’re taking place in the same universe where Batman exists. The thing Matt (Reeves) and I would always say is that Batman is just a man, you know, and he can’t be everywhere. He doesn’t have Spidey sense, you know?”

In brief: Live action ‘Rugrats’ movie in the works, and more

Paramount is developing a live-action/CGI feature based on the 1990s kids cartoon Rugrats, according to Variety. Pitch Perfect director Jason Moore is set to helm the movie, from a script written by Saturday Night Live cast member Mikey Day and SNL head writer Streeter Seidell. Plot details have not been revealed. Rugrats ran for several seasons on Nickelodeon beginning in 1991 and spawned a series of theatrical films, including The Rugrats Movie, Rugrats in Paris and Rugrats Go Wild. A sequel series, All Grown Up, aired on Paramount in 2021 …

Halle Berry is in talks to star in Crime 101, which already stars Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Barry Keoghan, according to Deadline. The film is based on Don Winslow‘s short story centering on detective Lou Lubesnick, who tracks a jewel thief adhering to the “Crime 101” rules — a strict set of guidelines for the perfect heist. Crime 101 is slated for a 2025 release …

Succession‘s Sarah Snook is Broadway-bound following her critically acclaimed West End run in the new adaptation of Oscar Wilde‘s The Picture of Dorian Gray, according to Deadline. The play is set to open for a limited engagement in March and will mark Snook’s Broadway debut. “Wilde’s timeless text is revolutionized by [director Kip] Williams’ celebrated collision of form employing an explosive interplay of video and theater through an intricately choreographed collection of on-stage cameras bringing to life a dizzying 26 characters, each brought to life by Snook,” reads the official synopsis …

A 9-1-1 spinoff from Ryan Murphy is in the works at ABC, according to Variety. “9-1-1 moved to ABC and suddenly became, I think, the biggest show on Thursday night. They obviously have an appetite for that, so we’re going to give them another one that I really love,” Murphy tells Variety. The concept and location of the new 9-1-1 spinoff is yet to be determined, per the outlet …

Watch Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix’s jail cell makeout sesh in new ‘Joker: Folie à Deux clip’

Warner Bros. Pictures

So far, we’ve seen a lot of little bits of the movie Joker: Folie à Deux in the various trailers that have been released, but now’s your chance to see Lady Gaga actually act with — and smooch — Joaquin Phoenix, thanks to an exclusive clip from the film posted by Entertainment Weekly.

In the clip, Phoenix as Arthur Fleck aka Joker is in a jail cell, awaiting the conclusion of his trial. Gaga’s Harleen Quinzel aka Lee runs up and starts kissing him through the bars, as a guard yells, “Hey, no touching!”

“I’m so f****** proud of you. You should see it out there,” Lee says, referring to a crowd of supporters who’ve gathered outside, cheering for Fleck. “They’re all going crazy for you. You did it.”

“I dunno,” Fleck slurs. “Maybe I should read a law book or something. Even though I never went to law school.” He then pulls his tie up and holds it like a noose. Lee laughs and they kiss some more, as the guard warns them again. “You can do anything you want,” Lee says. “You’re Joker.”

Joker: Folie à Deux — which features Gaga and Phoenix performing several musical numbers, as well as a song that Gaga wrote especially for the film — is in theaters on Oct. 4.