Stephen King's It Movie Could Set A Box Office Record

This month's Stephen King adaptation The Dark Tower may not have made an impact at the box office, but it looks the like same won't be true for the upcoming It. The big-screen version of King's classic horror novel hits theaters next month, and early estimates suggest that it might set a box office record.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie could make $50 million in its opening three days. This would make it the biggest film ever released in September, overtaking 2015's Hotel Transylvania 2, which made $48 million. The site states that some sources even think It could make as much as $60 million.

Warner, however, is more cautious, and the studio's own estimate places the movie more in the $40-$45 million range. September is traditionally a quiet month at the box office, and the film's R rating could count against it. Nevertheless, it is certain to earn considerably more than The Dark Tower's underwhelming $19.1 million opening weekend gross.

A new virtual reality video was released this week as part of the film's promotion. Titled It: Float--A Cinematic VR Experience, it takes the viewer deep into the darkened sewers of the fictional town of Derry, with the voice of demonic clown Pennywise as a guide.

Plans for the It sequel are already underway. Last month, director Andres Muschietti confirmed that he would start work on the second part of the adaptation soon. "We'll probably have a script for the second part in January," he said. "Ideally, we would start prep in March. Part one is only about the kids. Part two is about these characters 30 years later as adults, with flashbacks to 1989 when they were kids."

It arrives in theaters on September 8. The movie stars Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise, plus Finn Wolfhard, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophie Lillis, Wyatt Oleff, and Jeremy Ray Taylor.