The horror genre has a new reigning champion this weekend as Terrifier 3 took the domestic box office by storm, surpassing expectations and outshining several high-profile releases. The latest installment in the slasher franchise dominated the weekend, easily securing the top spot, while Joker: Folie à Deux suffered a historic second-weekend collapse, marking one of the worst declines in comic book movie history.
Terrifier 3 Takes the Crown
Cineverse and Icon Events’ Terrifier 3 opened with a staggering $18.9 million from 2,514 theaters, beating its initial projections of $18.3 million. The unrated horror flick, produced for just $2 million, is a massive win for the slasher franchise and for CEO Chris McGurk’s new venture. It’s a remarkable success for an indie horror film, proving that audiences are hungry for blood-soaked scares.
Meanwhile, The Wild Robot, DreamWorks Animation’s family-friendly hit, continues to hold strong in its third weekend, adding another $14 million to its domestic total of $84.3 million. The film’s global haul has now reached $149.5 million, cementing its status as a sleeper hit this season.
Joker 2 Plummets, Beetlejuice Sequel Holds Steady
Joker: Folie à Deux shocked the industry with an unprecedented 81% drop in its second weekend, pulling in just $7 million from 4,102 theaters. Until now, The Marvels held the record for the steepest second-week decline for a comic book film at 78%, but Joker 2 has now surpassed that. Rival studios had predicted an even steeper fall, but Beetlejuice Beetlejuice edged out Joker for the third spot with $7.3 million. Tim Burton’s spooky sequel, which continues to perform well despite being available on premium VOD, has now grossed $275 million domestically.
Globally, Joker 2 has amassed $165 million, but its 77-market overseas total of $113.7 million signals a worrying trend for the film’s international prospects.
In contrast, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has hit $420.3 million worldwide, making it one of the big box office success stories of the year. With $144.7 million coming from overseas markets, the film’s performance is a major win for Warner Bros., proving that nostalgia-driven sequels still have staying power.
New Releases Struggle Amid Blockbusters
While Terrifier 3 was slashing its way to the top, other new nationwide releases struggled to find an audience. The Apprentice, a Donald Trump biopic from Briarcliff Entertainment, managed a modest $1.6 million from 1,740 locations. Despite decent reviews and a B- CinemaScore, the politically charged film found most of its audience in liberal strongholds like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. The film had originally been expected to open in the $3 million range, but its lower-than-expected debut shows that niche political dramas face an uphill battle at the box office.
Focus Features’ Oscar hopeful Piece by Piece, an animated biopic about Pharrell Williams, fared slightly better, earning $3.6 million from 1,865 theaters. The film’s A CinemaScore suggests strong word-of-mouth could help it build momentum in the weeks to come. It performed ahead of Sony’s Saturday Night, a love letter to Saturday Night Live, which took in $3.4 million from 2,309 theaters and a B+ CinemaScore. Both films are hoping for long-term success as awards season heats up.
Indie darling A24 embraced a more traditional platform release for its critically acclaimed We Live in Time, starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. The film opened in just five locations but boasted a strong per-theater average of $45,182, the best of the weekend, positioning it well for a steady expansion in the coming weeks.
Box Office Decline from Last Year
Despite the success of Terrifier 3, the overall box office saw a sharp 45% decline compared to the same weekend last year. One major factor is the underperformance of Joker: Folie à Deux, but the absence of a marquee release like last year’s Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour documentary also played a role in the downturn.
Still, there were some bright spots. Disney’s annual re-release of The Nightmare Before Christmas managed to crack the top 10, bringing in $2.3 million from 2,204 theaters. Meanwhile, Disney and Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine surpassed Star Wars: The Last Jedi at the global box office with $1.335 billion in total ticket sales, making it the 20th top-grossing film of all time. Even though it’s available on premium VOD, the film remains in U.S. theaters and is on track to overtake Barbie as the 12th top-grossing movie domestically.
