It

This weekend belonged squarely to Warner Bros. ’ It Chapter Two.

The themes of trauma and the loss of innocence are universal, and the horror genre, of course, has historically served as a pressure release valve for the metaphorical exploration of all types of issues with which society at large is grappling. But the bifurcated structure of Stephen King’s 1986 novel It, and the unique perspective of director Andy Muschietti’s one-two horror punch makes for one of the most interesting big-screen, mainstream genre experiments in recent memory.

Looks like the reports about the death of movie theaters, and of the communal experience of enjoying images of people larger than life on the big screen, have been greatly exaggerated after all. Just a few weeks after the summer’s dismal numbers and the failure of several blockbusters led analysts to predict the end was coming and that the future belonged to streaming and some other technology yet to come, September has turned into something of a miracle month for the industry.

It is still it. The surprise late summer success that came at the end of a challenging and worrisome box office season.

It has become the most succesful September release ever, winning its second weekend box office with $60 million for a worlwide total of $371. 3 million.

Hurricane Irma tore into south Florida this weekend and shuttered movie theaters across the state, but that wasn’t enough to scare off New Line and Warner Bros. ’ killer clown flic It.