Two murderous clowns will face off at the weekend box office as “Terrifier 3” and “Joker: Folie a Deux” contend for the top slot on domestic charts.
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Ticket sales for the “Joker” sequel are projected to drop by at least 60% to 65% in its second weekend, which would amount to $13 million to $15 million. However, that’s on the optimistic end. Box office experts wouldn’t be surprised if the off-beat comic book musical suffered a tragic 70% to 75% decline, putting revenues at $9 million to $11 million. Hobbled by poor reviews and terrible word-of-mouth, “Joker 2” opened last weekend with a disastrous $37.6 million.
Based on those projections, “Terrifier 3” has the potential to pull off an upset. The third installment in the “Terrifier” franchise is targeting $10 million to $13 million from 2,514 venues in its first weekend of release. It would be a huge start for the ultra-gory, low-budget slasher film.
Also in the mix for No. 1 is Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot,” with the well-reviewed family film on track to add $12 million to $13 million in its third weekend of release. It has amassed $65.4 million domestically and $102 million globally to date.
The first “Terrifier” was relatively obscure, opening to $123,957 and ending its box office run with $419,000 worldwide in 2016. But the 2022 sequel “Terrifier 2” defied the odds — and dared moviegoers to not vomit — while emerging as one of the season’s unlikeliest successes. It launched to $805,000 and tapped out with a scary-good $10 million domestically and $15.7 million globally. And the second entry was able to achieve those returns without major stars or much promotion. The threequel, again directed by Damien Leone, features the demonic killer clown who returns to brutalize a small town. He usually strikes around Halloween, but this time Art the Clown decides to wait until Christmas to unleash the terror. “Terrifier 3” has surprisingly strong reviews for a slasher film, averaging an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. Iconic Releasing is distributing the film, which doesn’t have a rating by the Motion Picture Association.
For “Joker: Folie a Deux,” it’s been a shocking collapse for the highly anticipated sequel to 2019’s billion-dollar, Oscar-winning smash. The original “Joker” grossed $1.07 billion against a budget of roughly $60 million, making for some enviable profit margins. The follow-up film carries a substantial $200 million price tag, which skyrocketed because of generous fees for director Todd Phillips and stars Joaquin Phoenix (returning as disturbed stand-up Arthur Fleck) and Lady Gaga (joining as fellow Arkham Asylum inmate Harleen “Lee” Quinzel). So, “Folie à Deux” needs to generate at least $450 million to break even, according to sources familiar with the film’s financials.
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Elsewhere at the domestic box office, a smattering of new nationwide releases will aim for single digits.
Sony’s “Saturday Night,” a high-wire look at the inaugural broadcast of “Saturday Night Live,” is projected to collect $3.5 million to $5 million from 2,300 theaters over the weekend. The $30 million-budgeted film, directed by Jason Reitman, has grossed $629,000 after two weekends in limited release.
“Piece By Piece,” a documentary that tells the life story of Pharrell Williams using Lego animation, is targeting $5 million to $7 million from 1,851 locations. Focus Features is releasing the $16 million-budgeted film, which was directed by Morgan Neville, whose bona fides include the acclaimed Mr. Rogers doc “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” as well as “20 Feet From Stardom.”
“The Apprentice,” a biographical drama in which Sebastian Stan portrays a young Donald Trump, is expected to launch with $1 million to $3 million from 1,740 theaters. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and landed at Briarcliff Entertainment after struggling to find a buyer . The movie charts the rise of Trump’s business career and centers on the former president’s relationship with cutthroat New York City prosecutor Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Trump has criticized “The Apprentice” and his camp has threatened legal action over the movie, saying in a statement, “This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked.”
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