The number 1 movie of the entire month of April in 1988 was Beetlejuice. This was the second feature film directed by Tim Burton. The film starred Michael Keaton as a poltergeist trying to scare away a family who has moved into a home that was formerly occupied by a recently deceased young couple.

The film is considered a comedy classic and took Keaton’s career to another level. It also made a star out of Winona Ryder. Catherine O’Hara and Jeffery Jones played Ryder’s parents, and Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis portrayed the dead couple who died in a car accident and then enlisted the services of Beetlejuice after their attempts to scare away the new owners fail.

The film earned over 73 million at the box office and was the 10th highest grossing film of the year. Beetlejuice won the best make up prize at the Academy Awards and The Saturn awards. It was also won for the best Horror film at the 1988 Saturn Awards.

The film spawned a Saturday morning cartoon that aired on ABC for four years. A stage musical based on the film debuted on Broadway on April 25, 2019.

One interesting note about the film is that Burton’s first choice to play Beetlejuice was Sammy Davis Jr.

Click the image to watch Beetlejuice via Amazon.