It: Stephen King adaptation will be biggest September release of all time

The horror film has become the most successful King adaptation of all time

Stephen King adaptation It has proved a box office smash with takings that not even the studio could have anticipated.

A few statistics for you: It is now the 15th R-rated horror film to make over $250 million ($184m) globally making it the highest-grossing King adaptation of all time even when adjusted for inflation. For example, The Shining made $44m (£32m) in 1980, today $145m (£106m) - and, in 1999, The Green Mile made $136m (£100.1m) which today is $232m (£170.8m).

The New Line/Warner Bros film's US box office tracking through the weekend alone is $212.7m (£156.6m) which will see the horror film - which has been aided by rave reviews - earning the feat of being the biggest September release of all time beating previous victor Crocodile Dundee which managed $174.8m (£128.7m) in 1984.

All these figures have spelled bad news for mother!, Darren Aronofsky's experimental horror starring Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem released by Paramount. It failed to reach its box office projections earning just $8m ($5.9m) in its third week with the film facing something resembling a backlash following initial positive reviews (read our alternative reading of the film here).

It - whose central character is a murderous clown called Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) - has no doubt been helped by its comparison to Netflix smash hit Stranger Things which returns for a second season next month.