The movie marquee this weekend was filled with a diverse range of options, from Joaquin Phoenix’s chilling portrayal of the Joker to a film about Donald Trump’s early years. There was even a movie about the origins of “Saturday Night Live” and Pharrell Williams as a Lego character. However, in a surprising turn of events, all of these films were overshadowed by a low-budget slasher film called “Terrifier 3.”
Released by small distributor Cineverse, “Terrifier 3” took the top spot at the box office with an impressive $18.3 million in ticket sales. The film, a sequel to 2022’s “Terrifier 2,” brings back the murderous Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) as he terrorizes a Christmas party dressed as Santa.
The success of “Terrifier 3” was made possible by the underperformance of “Joker: Folie a Deux.” The highly anticipated sequel, starring Phoenix and Lady Gaga, had a disappointing start last weekend and received a “D” CinemaScore from audiences. This weekend, it saw a staggering 81% drop in ticket sales, bringing in only $7.1 million.
For a superhero film, such a significant drop in its second weekend is unprecedented. Other disappointments like “The Marvels,” “The Flash,” and “Shazam Fury of the Gods” all managed to have better second weekends. The rejection of “Joker: Folie a Deux” by both audiences and critics is particularly surprising, considering its predecessor, 2019’s “Joker,” was a massive hit, grossing over $1 billion worldwide against a $60 million budget.
The sequel had a higher budget of $200 million, and with only $165.3 million in global ticket sales so far, it is headed for box office disaster. This unexpected turn of events proves that the audience is the ultimate decider of what succeeds at the box office.
In second place, we have “The Wild Robot,” a heartwarming animated film from Universal Pictures and DreamWorks. The movie, based on the acclaimed book by Peter Brown, has received rave reviews and has earned $83.7 million domestically and $148 million worldwide in its third weekend.
Meanwhile, “The Apprentice,” a film about a young Donald Trump, opened in a distant 10th place with a disappointing $1.6 million in ticket sales. Despite the buzz surrounding the film, it failed to generate much interest from audiences, possibly due to its release during an election year. The movie, starring Sebastian Stan as Trump and Jeremy Strong as his mentor Roy Cohn, has been making headlines since its debut at the Cannes Film Festival. However, it seems like the controversy surrounding it did not translate into ticket sales.
The highly anticipated “Saturday Night,” a film about the backstage drama of the iconic sketch comedy show, also failed to make a significant impact in its nationwide expansion. The Sony Pictures release, featuring an ensemble cast led by Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, only managed to collect $3.4 million from 2,288 locations. It will need to gain more traction with audiences to carry it through awards season.
Another film that had high hopes for this weekend was “Piece by Piece,” a documentary-biopic hybrid animated in Lego form. The film, directed by Morgan Neville and featuring the voice of Pharrell Williams, opened with $3.8 million from 1,865 theaters. While this may seem low for a Lego animated movie, it is a significant achievement for a documentary. With an “A” CinemaScore from audiences, “Piece by Piece” is expected to have a long run in theaters and could potentially be the highest-grossing documentary of the year.
In the indie scene, “We Live in Time” had a successful opening, earning one of the year’s best per-theater averages in its five-screen debut. The A24 release, starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, collected $255,911 with a per-screen average of $51,000. The film, which will expand nationwide next weekend, is expected to continue its success in the coming weeks.
Overall, this weekend’s box office was a rollercoaster ride, with the unexpected success of “Terrifier 3” and the disappointing performance of “Joker: Folie a Deux.” The fall season has been struggling to get going, with only a few
