Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sequel is set 36 years after the original Beetlejuice, it successfully establishes itself as a standalone film. The story follows Lydia Deetz, who is now a reality TV host famous for her paranormal series, Ghost House.
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Astrid played by Wednesday star Jenna Ortega and the daughter Lydia, Astrid serves as the emotional core of the film. Lydia spends more time with the dead than with her own family. This mother-daughter dynamic adds emotional weight to the zany antics of the film.
Michael Keaton’s return as Beetlejuice is one of the major draws of the film. Keaton, donning his moldy rotting aesthetic, dives headfirst into the role with his signature manic energy.
His character remains as chaotic, repulsive and hilarious as ever. Keaton shines in scenes like the twisted couples counseling sequence, where he provides comic.
Winona Ryder’s portrayal of Lydia Deetz is another standout, the melancholy and depth of the character as she transitions from a goth teen in the original to a haunted mother in the sequel.
Ryder’s performance bridges the past and present.
Catherine O’Hara returns as Lydia’s self-absorbed stepmother, Delia with her artistic ambitions reaching new heights of absurdity.
In a comedic turn, Delia is now in The Art of Sorrow, wrapping the family home in black gauze in an exaggerated display of performative grief for her deceased husband, Charles.
The introduction of Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s teenage daughter, Astrid is a clever move that adds generational conflict and a new layer to the story.
Astrid is a rebellious, disaffected teen who is unimpressed by her mother’s paranormal exploits and is more focused on the mystery of her late father.
Ortega’s portrayal of Astrid grounds the film in reality, acting as a counterbalance to the supernatural chaos. She also brings in a fresh audience especially after her widely praised performance in Burton’s Wednesday series on Netflix.
One of the exclusions in the film is the absence of Barbara and Adam Maitland played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin in the original film.
According to Lydia, the Maitlands found a loophole and have moved on to another plane of existence, allowing Burton to shift the focus onto new characters and plotlines.
This clever writing choice allows the sequel to focus on the Deetz family and new arrivals in the spirit world.
Monica Bellucci adds a layer of villainy to the sequel as Delores, Beetlejuice’s terrifying and hilarious ex-wife. Introduced as a soul-sucking demon, Delores wreaks havoc in the afterlife, hunting down Beetlejuice and the other denizens of the Netherworld.
In one particularly inventive and grotesque scene, Delores reassembles her body from hacked-up pieces while the Bee Gees’ “Tragedy” plays in the background.
Delores’s quest to claim Beetlejuice’s soul gives the movie a new,conflict. Bellucci’s character brings both dark humor and danger to the film.
Tim Burton’s directorial style is on full display throughout the movie, with elaborate set pieces, playful use of Claymation and hand-crafted props that harken back to the original Beetlejuice.
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s physical sets such as the iconic Maitland house and the strange afterlife bureaucracies are designed to feel both familiar and fresh.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s attention to detail extends to the costumes as well, thanks to Burton’s collaborator Colleen Atwood, who makes sure that characters on both sides of the mortality divide have striking visual identities.
Composer Danny Elfman, who has been integral to Burton’s filmography returns to create the film’s score. His compositions blend dark tones with whimsical, bouncy melodies, encapsulating the film’s mood and energizing the story.
One of the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s biggest strengths is its ability to balance nostalgia with contemporary humor. The filmmakers infuse Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with callbacks to the original such as the reappearance of the black-and-white striped sandworms and several renditions of Harry Belafonte’s “Banana Boat Song (Day-O).”
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice makes clever pop-culture references ranging from Carrie to Soul Train, a layered viewing experience for fans who can appreciate both the film’s tributes to older horror films and its modern humor.
The sequel to the beloved 1988 Beetlejuice movie earned $12 million during its preview screenings on Wednesday and Thursday. It is just shy of the $13.5 million generated by 2017’s It, which went on to break the September opening weekend record with $123.4 million.
The preview earnings are also higher than those of It: Chapter Two, which made $10.5 million in previews before opening to $91 million.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has surpassed other blockbusters like Wonder Woman, which earned $11 million during its preview phase.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s preview earnings are in line with the $12 million earned by Dune: Part Two in its previews. However, there is a major demographic difference, while Dune: Part Two attracted a huge male audience (65% male).
Given its strong start Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is tracking to open over $100 million domestically.
It’s worth noting that Warner Bros. has gone all-in for this release securing 4,575 theaters across the United States. This release strategy underlines the studio’s confidence in the film’s box office potential.
The last Warner Bros. film to receive a similar wide release was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which opened in 4,393 theaters.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has the second-largest opening theater count in Warner Bros. history. While The Lion King holds the record for the widest release across 4,802 theaters, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice comes in second, dethroning The Secret Life of Pets, which was released in 4,564 theaters.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 78% Certified Fresh score from critics and an 87% audience rating. The original Beetlejuice movie has an 82% score from both critics and audiences on the same platform.
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