Box-Office Preview: 'It' to Terrify Competition With $50M-Plus Second Weekend

New titles on the marquee include action-thriller 'American Assassin' and Darren Aronofsky's 'mother!,' starring Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem.

Watch out — It will remain a terrifying force in its second weekend.

The film adaptation of Stephen King's novel is expected to win the frame with $50 million-plus after scaring up a record-shattering $123.4 million debut last weekend. The horror film, from Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, has become a water-cooler sensation, amassing nearly $151.5 million in its first seven days as it prepares to top the $200 million mark by the conclusion of this weekend.

It, which cost $35 million to make, is well on its way to scoring a lifetime domestic total north of $300 million and becoming one of the top-grossing horror films of all time, even when adjusting for inflation.

New entries mother! and American Assassin are expected to do much more modest business, with projected openings in the $12 million-$15 million range (no one is sure how much It will cannibalize other films). Marc Forster's All I See Is You, starring Blake Lively and Jason Clarke, was also set to open nationwide Friday, but Open Road Films pulled the pic earlier this week and has set a new release date of Oct. 27.

With the summer season over, the marquee isn't so family-friendly, considering It, mother! and American Assassin are all rated R.

From filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and Paramount, mother! stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer. The psychological horror-thriller made its world premiere earlier this month at the Venice Film Festival before screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The mysterious story revolves around a married couple named Mother (Lawrence) and Him (Bardem), whose tranquil existence is tested when two strangers — Man (Harris) and Woman (Pfeiffer) — show up at their country Victorian home.

In December 2010, Aronofsky's awards darling Black Swan likewise debuted to modest numbers on its way to earning $104 million domestically and $329 million globally, as well as winning Natalie Portman the Oscar for best actress.

Director Michael Cuesta's action-thriller American Assassin stars Dylan O'Brien as a CIA operative who teams with a veteran agent (Michael Keaton) to stop terrorists from starting a world war. The CBS Films and Lionsgate release also features Sanaa Lathan, Shiva Negar and Taylor Kitsch.

Comps for American Assassin include such action pics as 2914's John Wick, which debuted to $14 million, and 2011's The Mechanic ($11 million). The movie is based on late author Vince Flynn's novel of the same name.

New offerings at the specialty box office include Mike White's Brad's Status, starring Ben Stiller, Michael Sheen, Jenna Fischer, Luke Wilson and Austin Abrams. The dramedy, about an anxious father who takes his son on a tour of New England colleges, marks the second release from Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures. Brad's Status premiered at TIFF last weekend and will open in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles.

Sept. 14, 11 a.m. Updated with Wednesday grosses for It.