Why Terrifier 3 Blew Everyone Away At The Box Office

The October box office might be scary for some so far. But for Art the Clown, it may as well be a Christmas miracle.

The indie horror superstar (played by David Howard Thornton) graced theaters once more last week in "Terrifier 3," a holiday-set sequel to the 2022 breakout "Terrifier 2." Written and directed by series creator Damien Leone, it follows Art — now back from the dead and partnered with Victoria Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi) following the ending of "Terrifier 2" — as he attempts to exact his revenge against Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) and her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) at Christmastime.

Given how impressive the "Terrifier 2" box office run was, especially relative to its crowdfunded budget of $250,000, the slasher threequel had some pretty big clown shoes to fill in terms of financial success, cultural impact, and gory spectacle. As of writing, early box office returns already indicate that it surpassed the previous film in the first two aspects — and reports of the opening scene in "Terrifier 3" making people sick suggests it succeeded on that last one too.

So how did this indie underdog come out on top in a crowded week that included a major DC Comics sequel and a LEGO movie? We reached out to our box office expert, Ryan Scott of /Film to learn more.

As of writing, "Terrifier 3" has grossed almost $18.9 million at the domestic box office. This figure leaves it in a comfortable first place position in the North American Top 10, right above Universal Pictures' beloved animated family sci-fi feature "The Wild Robot," which grossed $14 million domestically this week. Next is Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" at $7.3 million, then, somewhat shockingly, the disastrous DC Comics sequel "Joker: Folie à Deux," which experienced an 80% drop-off from its debut and made only $7 million. Rounding out the top five is "Piece by Piece," the LEGO biopic of musician Pharrell Williams, which seems to be underperforming despite some decent reviews. It grossed just $3.8 million in its opening week.

Overall, box office numbers are down across the board, leaving 2024 not only trailing behind 2019 (the last year before the pandemic completely overhauled the theatrical industry), but 2023. Analysts have lamented that this October lacks the powerhouse of the "Taylor Swift: Eras Tour" concert film, which opened to $93.2 million during this period last year. Indeed, only Art the Clown seems to be in the holiday spirit for the time being.

The original "Terrifier" only grossed a few hundred thousand dollars since its debut in 2016, even accounting for its multiple re-releases. "Terrifier 2," on the other hand, cemented the series' future viability with an $800,000 opening and a total worldwide haul of $15 million. Given "Terrifier 3" has already passed the total worldwide gross of its predecessor in the U.S. alone, it's safe to say Art's reign is only getting started. According to Ryan Scott, this sort of success doesn't just equate to receipts, but increased visibility. "There's zero question that 'Terrifier' has become a true known commodity in the horror world over the last two years," he tells Looper. "'Terrifier 2' was one of the most shocking success stories of 2022, financially speaking."

Both the film's content and its mythology as an underdog success story has grown the series' cult following, and even helped push it toward the mainstream. Even though Hollywood widely rejected it, there was still apparently major studio interest in producing new "Terrifier" films, as the sequel proved its impact culturally. "Art the Clown is everywhere now," points out Scott. "Even people who don't watch these movies have seen him."

Screambox — the streaming service owned and operated by "Terrifier" distributor Cineverse — reported it tripled its subscriber numbers after the headline-making release of "Terrifier 2." Because of this, the third film's success perhaps isn't as surprising to those like Scott, who noticed the growing audience. "The reputation these films have gained as boundary-pushing, thanks to 'Terrifier 2,' has lifted the franchise overall," he says. "People seek these movies out now, and we're seeing that with the demand for this latest installment. It's hit a tipping point."

Understandably, some analysts may have underestimated "Terrifier 3" somewhat given the lack of conventional star power behind it. After all, Damien Leone, David Howard Thornton, and Lauren LaVera might be big names in the houses of die hard horror fans, but they probably won't be familiar to more casual moviegoing audiences that are increasingly moved in large numbers only by A-list double-billings on the level of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in "Deadpool and Wolverine." But, as Ryan Scott noted, Art the Clown's growing prominence as a horror and Halloween icon has made him a recognizable — and apparently bankable — leading man. For a film in this specific sub-genre, this is arguably more important than attaching a big, expensive name to the marquee.

"Movie stars can be a huge asset to a film. Just look at Tom Cruise. Look at the emergence of Glen Powell," notes Scott. "When it comes to horror though, particularly slashers, the villain can be the star. In the case of the Terrifier franchise, Art the Clown has become the star." Because of this, Scott says it wouldn't be correct to imply that "Terrifier 3" lacks starpower in a meaningful capacity. "Art, in his own way, has become a superstar of the modern horror world," he continues. "People want to see what he's going to do next, even if it's something maybe they wish they hadn't seen. That's the magic sauce here."

As we see consistently in our various box office analyses, the competition a film faces week-to-week can dramatically impact its potential for success. Except in those rare cases such as the Barbenheimer phenomenon, this impact is almost always negative.

On paper, an indie horror film — especially one flaunting an alienating amount of gore and unrated designation — should have folded to competition of any kind, especially critically lauded animated family features, blockbuster comic book movies, and perhaps even some buzzy awards contenders. But that wasn't the case here.

"'Saturday Night' [the star-studded "SNL" biopic from Jason Reitman and Sony Pictures] was always going to have somewhat limited play theatrically with the masses," explains Ryan Scott. "It's an example of 'I'll catch it when it hits streaming.' With 'The Wild Robot,' we've got a very well-liked movie, albeit one that is entering its third weekend of release, and one that didn't open to $70 million or anything like that in the first place. With 'Joker: Folie à Deux' straight-up bombing, it created this insane situation where 'Terrifier 3' ended up in a power position on an otherwise kind of dead weekend. It's just purely circumstantial and, for the filmmakers, downright serendipitous. Nobody could have predicted this."

Ryan Scott is far from the only box office expert noticing how this battle of the clowns has shaken out in favor of the underdog. The original "Joker" (which, in fairness, debuted in 2019 during a very different time culturally, prior the ever waning pandemic box office slump) wasn't just successful financially, but a record-breaking box office smash. It grossed over $1 billion worldwide, and was the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time until the release of Marvel Studios' "Deadpool and Wolverine" earlier this year. "Joker" opened to $92 million — in stark contrast, "Joker: Folie à Deux" has bombed at the box office, opening to just $37.6 million. To break even, it will need to somehow make $450 million, factoring in an estimated $200 million production budget, a $100 million marketing budget, and the portion of ticket sales that goes to theater owners. As of writing, it stands to lose as much as $200 million.

This is all interesting to take stock of as "Terrifier 3" takes the stage. According to box office analytics company PostTrak (via Deadline), 52% of those that saw the threequel instead of "Joker: Folie à Deux" did so because they were attracted to the horror genre. The "Joker" sequel, awkwardly straddling the lines between horror-thriller, musical, and superhero flick, arguably failed to capture the magic of any genre even in its marketing. PostTrak also reports that 40% of "Terrifier 3" audience members bought tickets because they like previous films in the series. Given the somewhat divisive critical reception of the first "Joker," this too is a strength "Folie à Deux" curiously lacked.

Speaking of critical reviews, "Terrifier 3" has enjoyed a warm reception from critics and audiences alike. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a critics score of 76% and is "certified fresh" — meanwhile, the newly christened Popcornmeter (formerly the audience score) deemed it "certified hot" at 89% with over 1,000 verified ratings. For a film like "Terrifier 3," these are scores high enough to indicate that the film would maintain the narrative quality of the previous installment — though fans are seemingly less interested in the film's dramatic merits and more interested in how gross, gory, and scary the thrills are.

In a glowing 4-out-of-5 star review for The Guardian, Catherine Bray wrote, "The number of horror films that promise to sicken your soul and shrivel your stomach is enormous, but the proportion that actually do so, particularly for veteran horror-watchers, is small. I'm pleased to report that 'Terrifier 3' is genuinely gruesome." Many critics echoed this sentiment, which — whether voiced with adoration or disgust — is a ringing endorsement for the series' fans. As Kim Newman of Empire warned, "Managing to go further over-the-top and pushing more [offense] buttons than you think possible, ['Terrifier 3'] is recommended only for the strong of stomach and hard of heart." In our own mixed review of the film,  Looper hailed it as "The Biggest, Grossest Art Attack Yet."

As we can see with "Joker: Folie à Deux," a monstrous budget can be the death of a film that otherwise pulls in opening box office numbers far out-matching the likes of "Terrifier 3." The primary reason why the movie is set to be one of the year's biggest success stories isn't its top opening spot or $18 million haul, but how it achieved this result on such a tiny budget. Having cost only $2 million to produce, "Terrifier 3" has almost certainly managed to make back the entirety of what was invested into its production, and is likely generating favorable dividends for anyone smart enough to take a financial stake in it.

It also can't be overlooked how efficiently "Terrifier 3" managed to find and attract its target audience, even with 1/100th of the "Joker 2" marketing budget at its disposal. Per iSpot (via Deadline), the film didn't take out any national advertising spots, and instead focused on a social media-driven campaign the likes of which have elevated such lower-budget features as "Godzilla Minus One." "Terrifier 3" specifically partnered with mobile payment service Venmo to set up an Art the Clown hotline, which would creepily trigger "Art" to send callers a penny via the app. The viral stunt worked, leading to TikTok and social posts about users' experiences calling the number for themselves. Call of Duty also added Art as an operator skin in "Modern Warfare 3" and the battle royale "Warzone."

Let's face it — few of us are brave enough to witness Art the Clown's latest rampage on our own. And, given how fun it apparently is, why would we want to?

Apparently, a lot of young moviegoers felt the same way. According to PostTrak (via Deadline), 49% audience members under the age of 25 showed up with at least one other companion — a third were there as part of a group of three or more. Though "Terrifier 3" isn't posting "event film" numbers compared to the likes of Barbenheimer or entries in the MCU, it seems to be cultivating a similar audience experience. It will be interesting to see if any data emerges regarding returning viewers buying tickets to subsequent screenings. On this same note, more than half of moviegoers surveyed by PostTrak responded that they would be encouraging their friends to see the film in theaters, rather than wait for it on streaming.

Clearly, in the not-so-great Clown War of 2024, Art the Clown has emerged the people's champion. As he and director Damien Leone stare down a controversial path to "Terrifier 4," they can at least take heart that their stroke of bloody luck has yet to run out, thanks in large part to shrewd spending, chilling characters, and, most of all, the fans that have supported this franchise every step of the way.