‘Terrifier 3’ Tops Box Office With $18 Million Debut, ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Collapses With Brutal 81% Drop

As a long-time horror movie enthusiast who has seen my fair share of gruesome clowns and blood-soaked films, I must say that the success story of “Terrifier 3” truly takes the cake. The fact that an independently made, ultra-gory slasher film about a demonic clown could outshine a big-budget production like “Joker: Folie à Deux” is nothing short of astounding. It’s a testament to the power of indie horror and the resilience of the genre.

There’s only room for one killer clown at the top of box office charts.

In North America, “Terrifier 3” made a powerful debut, earning an impressive $18.3 million in its first weekend from 2,514 theaters. This remarkable opening is a significant success for the extremely graphic, independently produced slasher film featuring a menacing demonic clown terrorizing a small town.

This past weekend, “Joker: Folie á Deux” took the number one spot at the box office. However, in its third week of release, it fell to third place with a disappointing $7.055 million from 4,102 theaters. It’s possible that it could end up in fourth place by Monday, behind “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which is holding onto its previous positions. The quirky comic book musical, starring Joaquin Phoenix as a secluded comedian and occasional clown, experienced an alarming 82% drop in ticket sales from its opening weekend of $37.6 million. This significant decline places it among the largest second-weekend drops for superhero films, surpassing last year’s flops like “The Marvels” (78.1%), “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (69.9%), “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” (69%), and “The Flash” (72.5%). With a hefty production cost of $200 million, the Warner Bros. film is currently facing an uphill battle to reach the $450 million needed to cover its costs, according to industry insiders.

Despite being a rather disturbing film, “Terrifier 3” has garnered surprisingly favorable reactions from both critics and audiences, with a ‘B’ on CinemaScore and an impressive 77% score on Rotten Tomatoes. This blood-drenched sequel, yet to be rated by the Motion Picture Association, has sparked controversy due to its violent content, prompting the distributors at Cineverse to establish a complaint hotline for moviegoers disgruntled by the carnage. The third “Terrifier” installment has already surpassed the total worldwide earnings of its predecessor, 2022’s “Terrifier 2.” Remarkably, that film also defied expectations and challenged viewers not to retch, raking in $10 million domestically and $15.7 million globally – a remarkable success for a low-budget production. Once again helmed by director Damien Leone, this new installment brings back the menacing Art the Clown, who typically terrorizes during Halloween, but this time chose to wait until Christmas to strike fear.

According to analyst David A. Gross from Franchise Entertainment Research, this third episode in an independent horror series starts off exceptionally well. It might not rival the scale of studio horror films, but it certainly delivers a satisfying outcome.

Hey there, fellow novice! The documentary titled “Piece By Piece,” which chronicles the life story of Pharrell Williams using Lego animation and was expected to perform better, only managed to open at sixth place with a box office take of $3.8 million across 1,865 locations. Produced by Focus Features and carrying a budget of $16 million, this film received an “A” rating from CinemaScore and boasts a 81% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Known for his work on the acclaimed Mr. Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” as well as “20 Feet From Stardom,” Morgan Neville directed this intriguing documentary.

According to Gross, both biographies about music and Lego movies have a proven success on the big screen. Yet, this combination doesn’t quite match up to those individual genres, he notes. However, he also mentions that the production cost was manageable. He expects the film to perform well in secondary markets and ultimately turn a profit there.

Sony’s movie “Saturday Night” didn’t manage to reach mainstream audiences after being shown in limited release for two weekends, earning just $3.4 million from 2,300 theaters over the weekend, placing it at No. 7. Directed by Jason Reitman, this film has a production budget of $30 million and will have to demonstrate longevity (and attract some award recognition) in order to make a profit.

In its debut, “The Apprentice” movie, featuring Sebastian Stan as a young Donald Trump, garnered $1.58 million from 1,740 theaters and finished in the 11th spot. Initially premiering at Cannes, it took some time for Briarcliff Entertainment to buy the rights due to its struggle to find a buyer. The biographical drama received mixed reviews from both critics and audiences, earning a “B-” CinemaScore and 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, Trump himself has been one of the movie’s harshest critics, threatening legal action against it. Over the summer, his team released a statement, calling the film “garbage,” claiming it sensationalizes untruths that have already been debunked.

In the domestic movie market, “The Wild Robot,” produced by Universal and DreamWorks Animation, flew high in the second spot during its third weekend, earning $13.45 million. This critically acclaimed family film has gathered a total of $83.73 million domestically and $148 million worldwide since it was released.

As a movie enthusiast, I’ve got to say that the weekend box office was quite intriguing! In third place, we had the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 classic, “Beetlejuice,” raking in an impressive $7.050 million in its sixth week on the silver screen. With a total of $275 million grossed in North America, it’s clear that this spooky sequel has struck a chord with audiences.

2024-10-13 18:49

‘Terrifier 3’ Tops Box Office With $18 Million Debut, ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Collapses With Brutal 81% Drop

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