“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” jumped into the queue, earning $41.5 million from 4,575 locations on Friday and preview screenings. That’s the second-biggest opening day ever for a September release, trailing only 2017’s “It” ($50.425 million). It is also the biggest ever for director Tim Burton, releasing before the $40.8 million opening day of “Alice in Wonderland” in 2010.

That’s a triumphant kickoff for the decades-brewing legacy sequel, produced on a budget of $100 million. And for Warner Bros., it’s a much-needed, unmitigated hit. After a summer in which the studio released atrocious nonstarters like “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” (though WB was not a production financier, merely a distributor), “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is now potentially eyeing an opening weekend of more than $97 million in North America. In just three days after its release, that would account for more than half of Warner Bros.’ total domestic gross. all of its summer releases. The film also gets the lion’s share of Imax and other premium large-format auditoriums to boost its revenue.

There’s a good chance that “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” will remain a major draw in the coming weeks, given its PG-13 family-friendliness and soon-to-be seasonal horror aesthetic as Halloween approaches. Critics have been glowing about the paranormal comedy since its well-received world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Audiences have been largely satisfied, too, though a B+ rating from research firm Cinema Score suggests early ticket buyers may have some reservations about the film.

The first “Beetlejuice” was a runaway hit in 1988, becoming the 10th-highest-grossing film of the year. Tim Burton had a breakthrough with his second feature film. In the decades since, the film has spawned an animated series, a Broadway musical and countless striped Halloween costumes. The new film sees Michael Keaton return as the eponymous Ghost with the Most, who is summoned back to the land of the living to harass the women of the Deetz family (Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, both reprising their roles from the original). Newcomers include Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, Arthur Conti and Justin Theroux.

Also opening this weekend, A24 has booked 2,095 theaters for its horror flick “The Front Room,” starring Brandy and directed by brothers Sam and Max Eggers. The film has not been well-received, with audience polls giving it a low C- Cinema Score. Rivals are predicting an opening weekend of $1.5 million, well outside the top five. Horror breakout this is not.

After spending five of the past six weekends at No. 1, Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” has dropped back to No. 2. The Marvel Studios megahit brought in another $1.7 million on Friday. This weekend, the superhero film will surpass “Incredibles 2” ($608 million) to become the 15th highest-grossing domestic release of all time. Next up is “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” ($620 million).

Showbiz Direct’s inaugural release, “Reagan,” also appears to be enjoying a healthy hold in its sophomore outing, with rivals predicting a 33% drop and $5.1 million gross for its second frame. The Dennis Quaid-starring biopic is expected to top $20 million domestic on Monday or Tuesday. It was a $25 million production.

Disney takes fourth place with “Alien: Romulus,” which took in another $1 million on Friday. Its domestic total should pass $100 million within the next week; it will be the 15th film this year to reach that milestone.

Sony’s “It Ends With Us” is projected to take fifth place after grossing $1.1 million on Friday. After nearly a month in theaters, the Blake Lively drama is set to surpass $140 million domestically this weekend, surpassing “A Quiet Place: Day One” to become the 10th-highest-grossing North American release of the year.