'Terrifier 3': How An Indie Cult Horror Franchise Became a Box Office Smash

Offering more than just unrated gore and the ability to stand out even amid a crowded genre made Damien Leone's threequel a mainstream sensation.

Cineverse’s Terrifier 3 was the top film at the domestic box office on Wednesday, earning around $1.72 million (-22% from Tuesday) and bringing its cume to $25.45 million over six days. Damien Leone’s horror epic will have over/under $27 million from an $18.9 million Fri-Sun launch heading into the second weekend, facing off against another possible breakout horror sequel in Parker Finn’s Smile 2. Alongside Joker: Folie a Deux, this October is being entirely held up by intense, violent “thrillers” boasting folks flashing scary grins.  

Barring a post-debut decline on par with the 2009 Friday the 13th remake, it’s sure to pass unadjusted domestic milestones for unrated films ($34 million for Beyonce’s Rennaissance, which inexplicably went out sans MPA rating in 2023) and NC-17 films ($36 million for Last Tango in Paris beginning in 1972). This weekend will likely determine if it can leg out past the X-rated milestone (Midnight Cowboy – which was re-rated R a few years after its Best Picture Oscar victory – with $44 million beginning in 1969) too. 

Sure, there are a million caveats and disclaimers with these comparisons (all-quadrant concert flick ≠ ultraviolent slasher movie), but the notion of a gore-packed, unrated slasher sequel for a mostly streaming-focused studio pulling grosses likely to surpass almost every major Oscar season contender is just as unprecedented in 2024. So, with a few days to digest a genuine unprecedented box office event, what are the key lessons and takeaways? I mean, aside from the obvious one being that this success cannot be easily replicated.