The House with a Clock in Its Walls ( film ) - wikipedia The House with a Clock in Its Walls ( film ) The House with a Clock in Its Walls Theatrical release poster Directed by Eli Roth Produced by Brad Fischer James Vanderbilt Eric Kripke Written by Eric Kripke Based on The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs Starring Jack Black Cate Blanchett Owen Vaccaro Renée Elise Goldsberry Sunny Suljic Kyle MacLachlan Music by Nathan Barr Cinematography Rogier Stoffers Edited by Fred Raskin Production company Amblin Entertainment Reliance Entertainment Mythology Entertainment Amblin Partners Distributed by Universal Pictures Release date September 21, 2018 ( 2018 - 09 - 21 ) ( United States ) Running time 105 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $42 million Box office $111.4 million The House with a Clock in Its Walls is a 2018 American family fantasy film directed by Eli Roth, based on the 1973 novel of the same name by John Bellairs. The film stars Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, and Owen Vaccaro, and follows a young boy who is sent to live with his uncle in a creaky old house. He soon learns it was previously also inhabited by a nefarious entity. Universal Pictures released the film in the United States on September 21, 2018. It has grossed over $111 million worldwide and received moderately positive reviews from critics, who largely praised the cast but said it did not fully live up to its potential. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release 5 Reception 5.1 Box office 5.2 Critical response 6 References 7 External links Plot In 1955, ten - year - old Lewis Barnavelt ( Owen Vaccaro ) goes to New Zebedee, Michigan to live with his uncle Jonathan ( Jack Black ) after Lewis ' parents are killed in a car crash. Upon arriving at Jonathan 's home, Lewis meets Jonathan 's neighbor and best friend, Florence Zimmerman ( Cate Blanchett ), with whom he trades playful insults. All Lewis has left of his parents is a Magic 8 - Ball that they gave him before the crash. During the night, Lewis hears a ticking sound in the walls, with Jonathan trying to locate it. On his first day of his new school, he meets Tarby Corrigan ( Sunny Suljic ), who is being friendly with him just so he can get voted class president. At night, whilst Lewis is dreaming he is visited by his mother ( Lorenza Izzo ) who tells him that Jonathan is hiding something from him and that the ticking sound he hears is real. Mrs. Barnavelt also tells Lewis that he must find a book and then a key. Lewis begins exploring the house and stumbles upon several creepy - looking puppets, along with Jonathan smashing a wall with an ax. Lewis, frightened, runs away and sees the windows, piano, and a `` pet chair '' ( named Chairy ), among other things, coming to life. At this point, Jonathan reveals to Lewis that he is a practicing warlock and that Florence is a witch. The house 's previous owner was a sinister warlock named Isaac Izard ( Kyle MacLachlan ) and his equally wicked wife Selena ( Renee Elise Goldsberry ). Before Isaac and Selena both died the previous year, they left a clock in the house and Jonathan has been trying to find and discover its purpose. At Lewis 's request, Jonathan agrees to teach him how to be a warlock. Lewis learns that to be a legitimate warlock, he must defeat an evil spirit using his own magic. Additionally, Jonathan lets Lewis know that he has only one house rule : never open a specific cabinet in his study. Jonathan looks through an old book with clippings of Isaac when he was a famous illusionist, as well of pictures of him during World War II. Jonathan reveals to Florence that he has not told Lewis everything about Isaac and plans to keep him in the dark. Jonathan does explain to Lewis that he was not close to his family, as they disagreed with his practice of magic, forcing Jonathan to leave home. Lewis continues to practice his magic, even at school, which is noticed by a curious girl named Rose Rita Pottinger ( Vanessa Anne Williams ). Jonathan soon finds an old picture of Isaac and Selena, leading him to discover a secret entrance into a room holding the blueprints for the clock. In the meantime, Tarby wins class president and abandons Lewis, following a failed attempt by Lewis to read the hidden book on the instruction of Tarby. Jonathan and Florence look over the blueprints and they are both stumped on how to decipher it. She notices an omega symbol with a skull, which Isaac mentioned before he died. They also realize the symbol, in early Christianity, was an indicator of Judgement Day. Lewis is once again visited by his mother in a dream. He laments that Tarby does n't see him as a friend, so Mrs. Barnavelt suggests that he use a spell from the forbidden book of necromancy to make Tarby return to his side. On Halloween night, Lewis attempts to impress Tarby by performing a necromancy spell in a cemetery, but he unknowingly summons the ghost of Isaac. Jonathan and Florence realize that Isaac is back and all of their magic stopped working in Jonathan 's house, so they hammer horseshoes on the front porch for protection. In Florence 's home, Lewis notices a poster advertising Isaac and Jonathan as a magician duo. Florence shows Lewis a series of flashbacks that showed Isaac and Jonathan performing as magicians together until Isaac left to serve in World War II. Isaac eventually returned home, but was suffering from PTSD and mentioned visiting The Black Forest, which is known for harboring dark magic, and Florence thinks Isaac made a deal with a demon in exchange for more power. Florence then explains how Isaac performed a dark magic ritual to make a key for the clock which killed him, which is believed to made of Selena 's bone. Florence also tells him she has lost faith in her power following the deaths of her family. Lewis tries to warn Tarby about Isaac, but he ignores Lewis and threatens to assault him. Lewis goes back home to find the blueprints so he can help out, but he is attacked by flying books. He escapes as Jonathan and Florence arrive to help. They go to a cafe in order for Lewis to read the blueprints, and discover that the clock is a doomsday device that will reverse time all the way to the beginning. The three return home to find the horseshoes have been pulled off the walls, indicating Isaac had returned to the house. They enter to find it ransacked. Jonathan and Florence decide to destroy the key, but it wo n't dissolve in the acid they dip it in. Lewis then confesses to resurrecting Isaac just to impress Tarby and also because he thought that if the spell worked, he could see his parents again. Feeling betrayed, Jonathan decides he wants to send Lewis away for his disobedience. Lewis runs away crying and Florence tells Jonathan that he is being a coward for trying to avoid responsibility for the boy. Lewis notices Isaac in the house of Jonathan 's neighbor Mrs. Hanchett ( Colleen Camp ). Lewis brings her to the house, but before Lewis can find Jonathan, Isaac emerges. He then reveals that Mrs. Hanchett is really Selena in disguise and that she killed the real Mrs. Hanchett, took her place, and that the key was made from her bones. Selena also reveals that she was taking the form of Mrs. Barnavelt to persuade Lewis into summoning Isaac. Isaac captures Lewis, followed by Jonathan and Florence, where he explains to them after the war, he met a demon named Azazel in The Black Forest who granted him with more power, and reveals that the clock will turn time back so that humanity never existed and uses living puppets and killer pumpkins to send the three away. Jonathan apologizes to Lewis for how he talked to him and they all plan to go back and stop Isaac and Selena. Lewis uses the Magic 8 - Ball to learn the location of the clock under the boiler room. They return to the house, defeat the guardian pumpkins and puppets, and begin searching for the clock. Florence is taken by Jonathan 's mutated snake named Snakespeare, leaving Lewis and Jonathan to face the Izzards on their own. Isaac and Selena await as the lunar eclipse is setting, which will activate the clock 's power. Lewis and Jonathan try to fight back, but Jonathan is transformed into a baby that still has his adult head. The eclipse begins, and people around town start to de-age to children. Lewis consults the Magic 8 - Ball to know what to do and it says `` Say goodbye. '' Lewis realizes he has to let go of his pain from losing his parents to harness his true power. He drops the ball into the clock 's gears to slow it down, and using his own magic, Lewis blasts Isaac and Selena, causing them to fall, de-age, and ultimately be erased from existence. Everything goes back to normal as Florence reveals that she has fixed Snakespeare and Lewis asks her to be part of his new family. Lewis returns to school with more confidence, and gets revenge on Tarby and his friends by magically bouncing a ball on their faces, and befriends Rose Rita Pottinger. Jonathan then picks him up from school where they go home with Florence as the three of them are now like a regular family, as reflected in the stained glass window. Cast Jack Black as Jonathan Barnavelt, Lewis 's uncle and a warlock. Cate Blanchett as Florence Zimmerman, Jonathan 's neighbor and friend and a witch. Owen Vaccaro as Lewis Barnavelt, Jonathan 's 10 - year old nephew. Kyle MacLachlan as Isaac Izard, an evil warlock Renée Elise Goldsberry as Selena Izard, Isaac 's wife and a witch. Sunny Suljic as Tarby Corrigan, a classmate of Lewis. Vanessa Anne Williams as Rose Rita Pottinger, a classmate of Lewis. Colleen Camp as Mrs. Hanchett, Jonathan 's nosey neighbor. Lorenza Izzo as Mrs. Barnavelt, Lewis ' mother. Eli Roth as Comrade Ivan Production Principal photography on the film began on October 10, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the challenges for the visual effects team was building massive 10 - foot and 14.5 - foot gears for the Clock Room sequence. Another challenge was designing the Jack - o ' - lantern characters, which included input from Steven Spielberg on the final designs. Noah Schnapp auditioned for Lewis ' role, but ended up staying to Owen Vaccaro. Release The House with a Clock in Its Walls was released by Universal Pictures on September 21, 2018. Select IMAX screenings featured a 3D version of Michael Jackson 's Thriller, which only ran for the first week of release. Reception Box Office As of October 28, 2018, The House with a Clock in Its Walls has grossed $66.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $44.8 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $111.4 million, against a production budget of $42 million. In the United States and Canada, The House with a Clock in Its Walls was released alongside Assassination Nation, Life Itself and Fahrenheit 11 / 9, and was projected to gross $15 -- 20 million from 3,592 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $7.8 million on its first day, including $840,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $26.9 million, finishing first at the box office and marking the best opening of Roth 's career, surpassing Hostel in 2006 ( $19.6 million ). In its second weekend the film made $12.5 million, finishing third behind newcomers Night School and Smallfoot. Critical response On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 67 % based on 166 reviews, with an average rating of 6 / 10. The website 's critical consensus reads, `` An entertaining PG detour for gore maestro Eli Roth, The House with a Clock in Its Walls is a family - friendly blend of humor and horror with an infectious sense of fun. '' On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating `` mixed or average reviews ''. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of `` B + '' on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars. References Jump up ^ `` The House with a Clock In Its Walls ''. British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved August 26, 2018. ^ Jump up to : `` The House with a Clock in Its Walls ( 2018 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 28, 2018. Jump up ^ Giles, Jeff ( September 20, 2018 ). `` The House with a Clock in Its Walls Ticks Along Tolerably ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 21, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Weekend Box Office : ' The House With A Clock In Its Walls ' Strikes Midnight On Its Competition ''. Uproxx. September 23, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018. Jump up ^ `` House With a Clock in Its Walls tops box office as Fahrenheit 11 / 9 fizzles ''. Entertainment Weekly. September 23, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018. Jump up ^ Kripke, Eric ( @ therealKripke ) ( October 10, 2017 ). `` Day One ! # HouseWithAClockInItsWalls Break a leg @ eliroth, Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vacarro @ Kyle_MacLachlan ! ! Dream come true ! '' ( Tweet ). Retrieved November 14, 2017 -- via Twitter. Jump up ^ `` Inside THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS ''. VFXVoice.com. September 27, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( September 26, 2017 ). `` ' The House With A Clock In Its Walls ' Sets Alarm For Next September ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 26, 2017. Jump up ^ Fuster, Jeremy ( September 18, 2018 ). `` Can ' House With a Clock in Its Walls ' Become the Fall 's First Family Box Office Hit ? ''. TheWrap. Retrieved September 18, 2018. ^ Jump up to : D'Alessandro, Anthony ( September 23, 2018 ). `` ' The House With A Clock In Its Walls ' Sounding Near $27 M Alarm ; Counterprogramming Still In Deep Sleep ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved September 23, 2018. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( September 30, 2018 ). `` ' Night School ' Top Of The Weekend 's Box Office Class With $28 M ; Best Opening For A Comedy So Far This Year ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved September 30, 2018. Jump up ^ `` The House with a Clock in Its Walls ( 2018 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved September 26, 2018. Jump up ^ `` The House with a Clock in Its Walls Reviews ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 26, 2018. External links The House with a Clock in Its Walls on IMDb Official website Films directed by Eli Roth Cabin Fever ( 2002 ) Hostel ( 2005 ) Hostel : Part II ( 2007 ) Grindhouse ( segment `` Thanksgiving '', 2007 ) The Green Inferno ( 2013 ) Knock Knock ( 2015 ) Death Wish ( 2018 ) The House with a Clock in Its Walls ( 2018 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_House_with_a_Clock_in_Its_Walls_(film)&oldid=866376095 '' Categories : 2018 films English - language films Amblin Entertainment films American children 's fantasy films American fantasy films American comedy horror films American comedy films American fantasy - comedy films American films American ghost films Dark fantasy films Demons in film IMAX films Films about Halloween Films about orphans Films about witchcraft Films based on American horror novels Films directed by Eli Roth Films produced by Eli Roth Films set in 1955 Films shot in Newnan, Georgia Universal Pictures films Hidden categories : Articles containing potentially dated statements from October 2018 All articles containing potentially dated statements Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Italiano עברית 日本 語 Русский Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 29 October 2018, at 23 : 47 ( UTC ). 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Question: the house with a click in the walls cast
Answer: Jack Black