Stephen King's 'It' is the first horror movie to mint $300 million at domestic box office

Warner Bros. 'It', a Stephen King literary adaptation, quietly reached a milestone at the domestic box office. 'It' is the first horror movie to cross the $300-million mark at the US box office.

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The horror film that revolves around an evil clown named Pennywise has made a record-breaking debut with $123 million on its opening weekend.

Made with a budget of $35 million, the movie is estimated to have earned $600 million at the worldwide box office. It has been five weeks since its release and the movie is still continuing its success streak at the theatres.

While nabbing the title of the biggest horror movie opening ever, 'It' grossed $304 million at its domestic box office which has made it the fifth-best among all 2017 releases.

Besides domestic box office, the R-rated horror flick has opened in 56 markets overseas and collected a total amount of $298.8 million at the international box office.

Having said that, the movie's outstanding box office record helped it surpass a long-standing record held by the 1973 horror classic The Exorcist.

In the box office history, only three other R-rated films have ever been able to gross more than $300 million at the domestic box office — The Passion of the Christ ($370.2 million), Deadpool ($363 million), and American Sniper ($350.1 million).

'It' follows a scary clown named Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard) who terrorises children in the town of Derry, Maine.

Warner Bros. distribution head Jeff Goldstein told The Wrap, "The triple crown of factors got us to this point: great marketing, great distribution, and of course, a great movie."

He further said that there are plans to put the film in additional screens close to Halloween.