It Chapter Two movie poster
Poster © Warner Bros. Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
GenreDrama, Fantasy & Horror
RatedR
Runtime2 hr 49 mins
ReleasedSeptember 6, 2019
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorAndy Muschietti
StarringJames McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader

It Chapter Two (2019)

movie.guru URL: https://movie.guru/it-chapter-two-movie-review
It Chapter Two's Details
GenreDrama, Fantasy & Horror
RatedR
Released08/26/2019 (Regency Village Theatre); 09/06/2019 (United States)
StreamingSee Where to Watch on this page.
Running Time2 hr 49 mins
Budget$79M (reported)
Box OfficeUpdated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below.
Based OnIt by Stephen King
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
It Chapter Two's Interests
GeneralRed balloons, storm drains, old yearbooks, the Derry library, promises made at thirteen.
MusicBenjamin Wallfisch, back from the first chapter.
MoviesIt (2017), where the Losers first met the clown. Stand by Me (1986), Stephen King minus monsters.
TelevisionStranger Things. Kids on bikes versus monsters, with a lot more synths.
HeroesRichie Tozier. Turns jokes into armor and never runs out.
It Chapter Two's Crew
DirectorAndy Muschietti
WritersGary Dauberman
ProducersBarbara Muschietti, Dan Lin, Roy Lee
CinematographyChecco Varese
MusicBenjamin Wallfisch
Edited ByJason Ballantine
ProductionNew Line Cinema, Double Dream, Vertigo Entertainment, Rideback
Distributed ByWarner Bros. Pictures
It Chapter Two's Trailer
Official Trailer • Warner Bros.
How It Chapter Two Performed
movie guru's TLDR

Picture a high school reunion where every guest has to give a long solo speech before anyone gets dinner. That’s the middle of It Chapter Two. The Losers split up to dig up old keepsakes one at a time, so the movie becomes a string of haunted house rides that all end the same way. At 169 minutes, you feel each one. The scares are mostly computer-made now, bigger and somehow less frightening, and a giant statue lumbering to life plays more goofy than creepy. Then Bill Hader saves the whole thing. His Richie is a nonstop wisecrack machine hiding something real, and he gets the biggest laughs and the most moving moments. James Ransone is spot on as a grown-up Eddie. The Chinese restaurant reunion, with its very bad fortune cookies, is the best scene in either chapter. It made $473.1 million worldwide. A 5.6 because the Losers are wonderful company and the movie keeps stopping for side quests. $5,189 says you crack open your next fortune cookie at arm’s length, just in case.

What works: Bill Hader gives a funny, heartbreaking performance, and the restaurant reunion shows how good this cast is together.

What doesn’t: At 169 minutes, the solo side quests repeat the same beats, and the heavy computer effects drain the scares.

Who it’s for: Fans of the first chapter who want to see the Losers grown up and don’t mind a very long sit.

Spoilers

The Losers defeat Pennywise by refusing to be afraid of him, shrinking him with insults until he’s small enough to destroy for good. Eddie doesn’t survive the final fight, and Richie later returns to the bridge where he once carved Eddie’s initials next to his own.

Guru’s Take
5.6/10
Average
It Chapter Two's Blurbs
About me:

Twenty-seven years after the summer they fought a monster under Derry, Maine, the Losers Club have grown up and scattered. Only Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) stayed in town, and when strange things start happening again, he calls in the oath they made as kids. Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy), Beverly Marsh (Jessica Chastain), Richie Tozier (Bill Hader), Eddie Kaspbrak (James Ransone) and Ben Hanscom (Jay Ryan) come home and realize they barely remember what happened back then. Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) remembers everything. Andy Muschietti directs. One hundred sixty-nine minutes, one very patient clown.

Who I'd like to meet:

Anyone who made a promise in 1989 and forgot all about it. Your phone is ringing.

It Chapter Two's Cast (in credits order)
Jessica ChastainBeverly Marsh
James McAvoyBill Denbrough
Bill HaderRichie Tozier
Isaiah MustafaMike Hanlon
Jay RyanBen Hanscom
James RansoneEddie Kaspbrak
Andy BeanStanley Uris
Bill SkarsgårdPennywise the Dancing Clown
Full cast and crew on IMDb.
It Chapter Two's Edit History
Every change to this page, newest first. Movie data updates are logged like any other edit.
  • (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $473.1M; Domestic box office $211.6M; Opening weekend $91.1M; Profit / loss (est.) +$118.1M; Rotten Tomatoes 62%; CinemaScore B+; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 62% (380 reviews); Metacritic 58 / 100; CinemaScore B+; IMDb users 6.5 / 10 (364,695 votes); movie.guru score 5.0.
  • (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.