Woah. We knew the terrifying trailer for the new remake of Stephen King’s It was going to make a splash as soon as it arrived this week, but no one was expecting this. The first It trailer officially became a cultural phenomenon, utterly obliterating the previous record for the most global trailer views in a 24 hour period after release by amassing 197 million worldwide views. The previous record had been held by The Fate of the Furious, but that was only 139 million views. This total for It, from New Line Cinemas and Warner Bros., is more or less unprecedented.
So, why did it make such a huge splash? Well, the trailer is legitimately scary, for one. Expectations for the film had been pretty low going in, owing perhaps to remake fatigue, but almost all these criticisms were immediately forgotten once viewers got a look at the trailer, which looks like a very serious, very scary take on the classic King story. Even the fans of Tim Curry’s performance (including us) in the previous TV movie version of It now seem to be psyched about the new version, which stars Bill Skarsgård as a younger-looking version of the deadly Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
If you haven’t already been thoroughly spooked by the new trailer, check it out below. The film opens Sept. 8 in the U.S.A.