Pennywise the Dancing Clown is supposed to be a symbol of terror, a creature who taps into your darkest fears and forces you away, cowering, as he steals your soul and feeds on your flesh. And yet, the most memorable uses of Pennywise recently have been to great comedic effect, whether his dances are being set to pop music, he's being used to mock Kellyanne Conway, or he is being snuck into the background of some poor couple's engagement photos. Because nothing says "true love" like Pennywise!
Jesse McLaren is a comic who has been a production assistant on Comedy Central Presents and The Colbert Report, but currently works at BuzzFeed, per his Twitter account. He's made some funny original video and Vines, but this one takes the red balloon. I'm going to believe, for the sake of the bit, that his sister isn't aware of the IT-based prank that's happening with her "Special Moment" photographs. Maybe she'll think it's hilarious? Lord knows I laughed pretty hard at the concept. Maybe she's a huge fan of Andres Muschietti's IT, and will love the fact that Pennywise makes a cameo in her photos? Really, we need her side of this story before we judge.
What's clear is how prevalent Pennywise has become in our pop culture once again, thanks to the enormous success of IT. Heading into the Halloween season, where it's possible it sees an increase in interest from horror-hungry audiences, IT already has banked $320 million in domestic ticket sales, making it the fifth highest grossing movie of 2017. Globally, the adaptation of the Stephen King horror novel has earned $651M total, making it a massive, surprise hit for Warner Bros. Revisit some of the film's best scenes in the full trailer for the movie:
IT has helped to trigger a fresh wave of Stephen King adaptations, both in theaters and on our TV screens. Sure, The Dark Tower and The Mist faltered in their respective mediums. But on Netflix, movies like Gerald's Game and 1922 are earning raves, while studios are moving forward on adaptations of such novels as The Stand (long in development), The Talisman (written by Josh Boone), Revival and Suffer the Little Children. And of course, for people anxious to see what happens with Pennywise and The Losers Club, WB has dated IT: Chapter 2 for September 6, 2019.
That's a long way off. We have plenty to keep you busy until then. Visit our Upcoming Horror Moves Guide for dates and details on pending scares. And hit up our 2018 Movie Release Schedule to see which films need to be on your radar as we start getting ready for next year.
