Art Wins! ‘Terrifier 3’ Poised To be a Seasonal Crossover Fave

DC and Warner Bros. are probably having interesting staff Zoom calls this morning after their latest big-budget movie, Joker 2, couldn’t snatch the top spot at the box office over the weekend. Meanwhile, lunchtime at Cineverse probably includes a pizza party; their indie hit Terrifier 3 was victoria–ous. It took the number one spot earning $18.3 million in its American debut.

Damien Leone directed the extreme indie slasher (read our review) which was fueled by word of mouth alone. It didn’t need a grandiose budget allocated to its publicity department thanks to the power of social media. It also managed to do another thing: live up to the hype. The movie is like a horror house attraction come to life on the big screen, complete with expertly crafted practical effects. Not only that, Leone is taking Terrifier in an interesting direction story-wise, one that explores good vs. evil between heaven and hell, ending on an intriguing cliffhanger. Furthermore, he confirmed another sequel is forthcoming.

Terrifier 3

Sadly, Joker 2 couldn’t even make it to second runner-up, that honor went to the animated film Wild Robot which came in at $13 million.

Falling a whopping 83% among ticket sales in its second week, Joker Folie à Deux mustered up $7.5 million settling in at number three.

Already a hit on digital, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice came in fourth and brought in $7.05 million theatrically.

Nothing really notable in the bottom six: the Lego origin story, Piece by Piece, earned $3.8 million at number five, after that, Transformers One $3.6 million, Saturday Night, $3.4 million, and My Hero Academia, $3 million.

Director Tim Burton (Beetlejuice 2) managed to make the list twice as the re-release of A Nightmare Before Christmas came in at number nine with $2.3 million, and the bio-pic about a young Donald Trump’s rise to riches earned $1.5 million.

Thanks to the fall of the Joker, Terrifier 3’s window of opportunity may be short-lived at number one since Paramount will try to push its own horror franchise, Smile 2, into theaters this coming Friday.

Smile 2

Even if that movie is successful, Leone’s film isn’t down for the count because it will probably remain at the top for weeks to come. The genius is after Terrifier 3’s theatrical run, it will most likely be released on digital just in time for Christmas which ties into its plot — albeit in a very disturbing way.