After 36 years of waiting, the juice is finally loose again in 含羞草研究社淏eetlejuice Beetlejuice,含羞草研究社� this time racking up $110 million in its premiere weekend.

The long-awaited Tim Burton sequel is the third-best opening weekend of the year, only behind box office triumphs 含羞草研究社淚nside Out 2含羞草研究社� and 含羞草研究社淒eadpool & Wolverine.含羞草研究社�

Michael Keaton returns as the titular spirit and Catherine O含羞草研究社橦ara and Winona Ryder also reprise their roles as Delia and Lydia Deetz, with newcomer Jenna Ortega playing the latter含羞草研究社檚 daughter, Astrid. Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci and Justin Theroux round out the cast.

The Warner Bros. sequel is the second-highest grossing September movie of all time, only behind 2017含羞草研究社檚 含羞草研究社淚t,含羞草研究社� which opened with a staggering $123 million. The 2019 sequel 含羞草研究社淚t Chapter 2含羞草研究社� opened with $91 million and previously held the No. 2 spot for September openings.

The original 含羞草研究社淏eetlejuice含羞草研究社� film earned a mere $8 million in its opening weekend in 1988, unadjusted for inflation, but went on to make $77 million in theaters domestically as it became a cult classic.

含羞草研究社淭here含羞草研究社檚 life in the afterlife,含羞草研究社� said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. 含羞草研究社淢any things have to happen simultaneously and all the stars are aligning.含羞草研究社�

Goldstein, who confirmed the film含羞草研究社檚 budget of $100 million, said the studio expected an opening weekend of between $80 million and $90 million. Given the early success, he said the film 含羞草研究社渕ay get really long legs含羞草研究社� with Halloween season approaching.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said September is 含羞草研究社渘ot known as a hotbed of $100 million blockbuster debuts,含羞草研究社� but attributed part of the film含羞草研究社檚 success to Burton含羞草研究社檚 singular style and the star cast.

In addition to the returning cast, Ortega, who starred in the Netflix series 含羞草研究社淲ednesday含羞草研究社� about the Addams family character, likely brought in younger audiences.

含羞草研究社淚f all this was were a nostalgia play for people who saw the first movie, it wouldn含羞草研究社檛 really necessarily work,含羞草研究社� Dergarabedian said. 含羞草研究社淧art of the magic formula of 含羞草研究社楤eetlejuice Beetlejuice含羞草研究社� is having a great cast of a revered generation of actors and then having young actors who are making their own mark.含羞草研究社�

The electric opening weekend kicks off the fall movie season with a bang after a sleepy Labor Day weekend and a relatively slow August that saw newer films struggle as holdover movies ruled the box office.

Beyond 含羞草研究社淏eetlejuice,含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社淒eadpool & Wolverine含羞草研究社� placed second on the box office charts, making $7.2 million in its seventh weekend. Its cumulative domestic total is now $614 million.

含羞草研究社淩eagan,含羞草研究社� the Dennis Quaid-led biopic about the 40th U.S. president, continues to beat expectations. Climbing the ranks to third place in its second weekend, the film made $5.2 million.

含羞草研究社淎lien: Romulus含羞草研究社� and 含羞草研究社淚t Ends With Us,含羞草研究社� two more holdovers from the summer, came in fourth and fifth place, respectively. The sci-fi horror film brought in $3.9 million and the romance drama brought in $3.8 million.

The only other new release of the weekend to make it on the box office rankings was 含羞草研究社淭he Greatest of All Time,含羞草研究社� an Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film. The movie stars Joseph Vijay and was directed by Venkat Prabhu, who is known for directing and writing other Indian action films. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

READ ALSO:

1. 含羞草研究社淏eetlejuice Beetlejuice,含羞草研究社� $110 million.

2. 含羞草研究社淒eadpool & Wolverine,含羞草研究社� $7.2 million.

3. 含羞草研究社淩eagan,含羞草研究社� $5.2 million.

4. 含羞草研究社淎lien: Romulus,含羞草研究社� $3.9 million.

5. 含羞草研究社淚t Ends With Us,含羞草研究社� $3.8 million

6. 含羞草研究社淭he Forge,含羞草研究社� $2.9 million.

7. 含羞草研究社淭wisters,含羞草研究社� $2.3 million.

8. 含羞草研究社淏link Twice,含羞草研究社� $2.1 million.

9. 含羞草研究社淭he Greatest of All Time,含羞草研究社� $2 million.

10. 含羞草研究社淒espicable Me 4,含羞草研究社� $1.8 million.

Kaitlyn Huamani, The Associated Press