'Terrifier 3' Box Office: Art the Clown Chops Up $8.2 Million Friday

In a year battered by underperforming originals and mostly held up by existing franchises, 'Terrifier 3' (obviously a sequel) is a reminder of why Hollywood shouldn't give up on original horror movies

If this clown should fall, who will lift the flag and carry on? 

Where have all the bad clowns gone? Where are all the fiends? That is what Hollywood was asking after the seemingly month-sustaining tentpole Joker: Folie a Deux opened with just $38 million. But when one murder clown closes a door, another murder clown opens one. Art (the Clown) came along with the strength to carry on, saying that theaters needed a hero to save them, and he was not going to stand here and wait etc., etc. In an inspiring, heartwarming story trumping anything offered in Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (I jest, that film is lovely), Terrifier 3 topped the box office with a rousing $8.2 million Friday.

That sets the $2 million, unrated Cineverse release up for an over/under $16 million opening weekend. That would A) be double the $8.1 million opening weekend of Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls (29 years ago, $20 million adjusted for inflation) as the biggest opening for an X, NC-17 or “unrated because it’s too legit for the MPA” release. It also would exceed what Terrifier 2 earned worldwide ($15.7 million in late 2022) and around 40x that film’s $403,900 (in 886 theaters) opening weekend. 

Two years after Terrifier 2 became the first “unrated for naughty reasons” flick in recent history to get a wide theatrical release and legged out to $10.5 million domestic, Terrifier 3 is a true “breakout sequel.”

Okay, Art, now you’re Jigsaw…

As regular readers know, a breakout sequel is when a film becomes a long-legged and word-of-mouth-driven theatrical hit (either a modest hit or an outright blockbuster) and continues to earn new fans in post-theatrical. The groundswell of earned goodwill is unleashed amid the opening weekend for the next installment. Think Lethal Weapon 2, Scream 2, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Matrix Reloaded, Saw II, The Dark Knight, Pitch Perfect 2 and John Wick: Chapter 2.

Even with solid reviews from the horror faithful and a B from Cinemascore, we should expect a frontloaded, fan-driven domestic debut weekend between $15 million and $18 million. Beyond the “wanna see it now” factor, I don’t think many general audiences or families will say, “Curses, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is sold out; let us instead sample this Christmas-y clown comedy!”

However, beyond just casually curious genre fans grabbing their barf bags and taking the plunge, The Wild Robot will drop just 27% this weekend. Alongside that film’s quality-driven buzz, credit must go to heroic children who used their buying power to support the best animated film of the year and sneak into the season’s must-see cool kids’ playground movie. Remember, children are (checks notes) the future, so we should first A) teach them well and then B) let them lead the way.