Fans of the cult-classic film "Beetlejuice" are eagerly awaiting the release of "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" in theaters this weekend. A prediction market allows movie fans and crypto holders to wager on how much money the sequel from Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) will gross at the box office.
What Happened: The sequel, which is based on the 1988 film, brings several of the same characters back along with original director Tim Burton.
"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" is expected to have an opening box office of $100 million to $110 million domestically and a global opening weekend of $145 million, as reported by Deadline.
The domestic prediction would make the film one of the highest-grossing opening movies domestically for the month of September and the first to pass the $100 million level since 2017's "It."
Polymarket has two predictions open for "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."
Polymarket, which calls itself the world's largest prediction market, offers betting on items in categories such as politics, sports, cryptocurrency, pop culture and more.
On Polymarket, users can deposit funds using USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) via the Polygon (CRYPTO: MATIC) network, or directly from a crypto account with Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). In each betting market, the winning option pays out at $1.
Users can predict the domestic weekend opening box office, with the following current odds:
- Less than $75 million: 3%
- $75 million to $85 million: 3%
- $85 million to $95 million: 16%
- $95 million to $105 million: 21%
- $105 million or more: 55%
The Polymarket prediction market, which has over $490,000 in wagers sees the highest odds for the film making more than $105 million domestically in its weekend debut.
Another prediction market allows Polymarket users to predict “yes” or “no” if the film will become the highest-grossing domestic open for the month of September. "It" holds the current record at $124.3 million.
This market is listed at 10% at the time of writing. The market was significantly higher in recent days, hitting 39% on Aug. 30 and still trading at 37% on Sept. 3 before media websites like Deadline published their estimates.
Read Also: Right-Wing Congresswoman Didn’t Say Beetlejuice Three Times, Gets Kicked Out Of Theater For ‘Causing A Disturbance’
Why It's Important: Deadline reports presales for the movie have been stronger than "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," which went on to gross $118.4 million domestically in its opening weekend. Adding Jenna Ortega, who starred in the Netflix hit "Wednesday," could also help bring in more demand for the sequel, Deadline said.
Also helping the film's quest to break the September record will be a release in around 4,500 theaters domestically, marking the biggest theater count total for 2024 to date. The film will also play in several premium formats such as Dbox, Imax and ScreenX.
A strong open for "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" could be positive news for Warner Bros. Discovery. The company's film unit struggled during the summer months and has high hopes for the "Beetlejuice" sequel and the upcoming October release "Joker: Folie a Deux."
The original "Beetlejuice" grossed $74.7 million domestically and was the 10th highest-grossing film of the year domestically. The original film has enjoyed a cult following over the years that could translate to increased anticipation for the sequel, which opens Sept. 6.
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Photo: “Beetlejuice Beetljuice” poster vis IMDb
