<P> On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 85% based on 311 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2 / 10 . The site's critical consensus reads, "Well - acted and fiendishly frightening with an emotionally affecting story at its core, It amplifies the horror in Stephen King's classic story without losing touch with its heart ." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B +" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave an 85% overall positive score and a 64% "definite recommend". </P> <P> Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun - Times gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, saying: "What will REALLY put a chill down your spine and raise the hairs on the back of your neck are the moments when an adolescent character is isolated from friends, all alone in the cellar or the bathroom or the alley or a dark office, and something they've long feared springs to' life' in a certain fashion, confirming their worst sense of dread and doom ." Andrew Barker of Variety praised the visuals and cast, while acknowledging the familiarities, calling the film "a collection of alternately terrifying, hallucinatory, and ludicrous nightmare imagery...a series of well - crafted yet decreasingly effective suspense setpieces; and a series of well - acted coming - of - age sequences that don't quite fully mature ." Mark Kermode of The Guardian gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, writing that the film "is an energetic romp with crowd - pleasing appeal that isn't afraid to bare its gory teeth". Christopher Orr of The Atlantic gave the film a mixed review, calling it "a solid but relatively conventional horror movie" and writing that it "privileges CGI scares over dread and nuance". </P> <P> Some critics were disappointed with the film's implementation of jump scares . Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune noted the film's "diminishing returns of one jump scare after another", writing that "nearly every scene begins and ends the same way, with a slow build...leading up to a KAAA - WHUMMMMMM!!!! sound effect". Eric Kohn of IndieWire praised the film's visuals but wrote that it "simplifies its appeal with jump scares", and Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly lauded the child actors but wrote that "the more we see of Pennywise, the less scary he becomes". </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Award </Th> <Th> Date of ceremony </Th> <Th> </Th> <Th> Recipient (s) and nominee (s) </Th> <Th> Result </Th> <Th> Ref . </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Golden Trailer Awards </Td> <Td> June 6, 2017 </Td> <Td> Best Horror </Td> <Td> It </Td> <Td> Won </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association </Td> <Td> December 8, 2017 </Td> <Td> Best Acting Ensemble </Td> <Td> It </Td> <Td> Nominated </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Best Youth Performance </Td> <Td> Sophia Lillis </Td> <Td> Nominated </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> St. Louis Film Critics Association </Td> <Td> December 17, 2017 </Td> <Td> Best Adapted Screenplay </Td> <Td> Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman and Stephen King </Td> <Td> Nominated </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Houston Film Critics Society </Td> <Td> January 6, 2018 </Td> <Td> Best Poster </Td> <Td> It </Td> <Td> Nominated </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Critics' Choice Movie Awards </Td> <Td> January 11, 2018 </Td> <Td> Best Sci - Fi / Horror Movie </Td> <Td> It </Td> <Td> Nominated </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Saturn Awards </Td> <Td> June 2018 </Td> <Td> Best Horror Film </Td> <Td> It </Td> <Td> Pending </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Best Supporting Actor </Td> <Td> Bill Skarsgard </Td> <Td> Pending </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Best Performance by a Younger Actor </Td> <Td> Sophia Lillis </Td> <Td> Pending </Td> </Tr> </Table>

When does it (2017) take place