The Canadian premiere of IT:Welcome to Derry being shown at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope on Wednesday, October 29, 2025 brought fans from around the world.
Port Hope has a long history with the franchise with IT and IT- Chapter Two being filmed in the town as the backdrop of the horror filled-town of Derry, Maine.
The showing of episode one and two of the series was put on by Port Hope Tourism in partnership with HBO Max, Crave, Warner Bros. Discovery and Ontario Creates.
The first showing was at 5 p.m. for invited guests, people who were involved in the series and special guest Andy Muschietti who directed both IT films and four episodes of the series.
The 9 p.m. showing was free for people who had got their tickets online or in person at the Capitol Theatre.
Port Hope Mayor Olena Hankivsky said the franchise has reached global audiences and it was a unique event to have a Canadian premiere.
“What a great opportunity for our beautiful, beautiful Port Hope to be featured and for people to recognize it.”
Both movies and the series showcase downtown Port Hope and other areas around town.
“It’s great for our economy.”
“We are becoming more of a sought after location in the GTA east. The more exposure we get, the more productions are going to be interested in coming here. It’s great for our local businesses, our vendors, our restaurants, for our accommodations and for our community. The community takes great pride in this. We havea welcoming community, we have an excellent staff and word of mouth spreads quickly.”
One of the people attending with a man who came from Paris, France. Although he didn’t speak English he was proud to show his tattoos of IT and was thrilled to meet Muschietti.
Lena Doucette from Moncton, New Brunswick flew in for the day just to watch the premiere and take in the sites of where it was filmed.
Doucette was wearing a one-of-a-kind beaded Pennywise jacket and had spent the day looking around Port Hope.
“We spent the entire day exploring and I fell in love.”
“If we ever wanted to leave New Brunswick, it’s such a charming little town and I adore it.”
Doucette says that the IT franchise dating back a decade is an enigma created by Muschietti and his sister Barbara.
“You look at how impactful 2017 was and now to be able see the story being told and flushed out even further – it’s a whole vibe.”
Andy Muschietti graciously took some time to speak to Today’s Northumberland about the IT phenomenon and filming in Port Hope.
Muschietti said filming in Port Hope starting in 2011 was a “magical experience”
For Muschietti working on series for television is something he’s never experienced.
“I don’t know how to make a tv show. So what I did is a very long movie.”
Having to fill eight hours of television it requires more writers, actors, more plot, more storylines and more intensity.
Muschietti directed four of the eight episodes for the series.
Filming in Bangor, Maine was financially prohibitive and with Muschietti have a “great experience” filming Mama in Canada in 2011.
Mama is a 2013 supernatural horror film directed and co-written by Muschietti in his directorial debut.
“We considered Toronto for the stages and locations, but mostly we wanted to find our Derry. And before to long we found Port Hope. It was a place with more similarities to Derry that I’ve ever seen.”
“It has the canal/stream, the bridge over the stream, a beautiful main street, the park, city hall, the Capitol Theatre around the corner and many, many other places. So everything was condensed in a area that for me was very inspiring.”
Summing up his experience in Port Hope filming Muschietti said, “it’s soothing, it’s calming for me, it’s magical and I will keep coming as much as I can.”
Ontario Creates
• The production hired more than 400 local cast members and over 4,000 Ontario-based crew, supporting jobs across the province.
• It injected spending into the local economy through more than 1,700 vendors in Port Hope and throughout Ontario — from catering and accommodations to equipment rentals and transportation.
• Zooming out, this was just one of 400 productions filmed in Ontario last year, contributing to a record $2.6 billion in direct spending and helping create close to 35,000 jobs across the screen sector.
Ontario Creates is an agency of the Government of Ontario that facilitates economic development, investment, and collaboration in Ontario’s creative industries, including the music, book, magazine, film, television, and interactive digital media sectors.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
