The only maniacal clown laughing at the North American box office over the weekend was Art as unrated horror Terrifier 3 opened top on a confirmed $18.9m, while Joker: Folie à Deux tumbled in a catastrophic second weekend for a character from a superhero franchise.
Damien Leone’s low-cost slasher film – reportedly in the region of $2m – starring David Howard Thornton as the homicidal Art the Clown who goes on the rampage on Christmas Eve and Lauren LaVera as ‘final girl’ Sienna debuted on 2,514 screens in a rare big theatrical play for Cineverse, led by former MGM COO Chris McGurk.
Terrifier 3 earned $8.2m from Thursday previews and Friday, $5.9m on Saturday, and an estimated $4.8m on Sunday on the back of strong reviews and a B CinemaScore. Opening in partnership with the horror portal Bloody Disgusting and in association with Iconic Events Releasing, McGurk and his team targeted the Bloody Disgusting community and played on the franchise’s notoriety as they boosted awareness through street activations.
This is easily the biggest launch in the eight-year franchise after the first film arrived on $339,000, followed by Terrifier 2 in 2022 on $10.6m. Screen reported how Terrifier 3 recently became the first horror film in 18 years to earn an under-18s ban in France.
Meanwhile Warner Bros executives reported Joker: Folie à Deux in third place dropped 81% in its second weekend – worse than the 78.1% drop by The Marvels last year – on a confirmed $7m as the running total reached $51.6m. By its second weekend, the 2019 original had earned $193m en route to $335m and $1.08bn worldwide. The sequel will not get anywhere close to that amount.
The R-rated release was fractionally ahead of Warner Bros stablemate Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on $7.3m for $275.9m after five sessions.
DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot ranks second through Universal as a $13.5m second weekend in 3,854 theatres raised the running total to $83.7m.
Arriving at number five through Focus Features was Piece By Piece, Morgan Neville’s awards season hopeful and animated Lego biopic of musician and producer Pharrell Williams. It earned an A CinemaScore and $3.8m from 1,865 theatres.
Briarcliff Entertainment opened The Apprentice starring Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong and Maria Bakalova in the Donald Trump origins story and it grossed a confirmed $1.6m from 1,740 sites, playing best in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Washington D.C.
The audience was 55% male and 72% Caucasian, 10% Latino, 10% Black, 7% Asian, and 2% Native American and other demographics. By age, the over-35 crowd accounted for 63% of ticket buyers, with the 18-24 and 25-34 brackets each comprising 18%.
Briarcliff CEO Tom Ortenberg closed the acquisition on August 29 and did not have much time to market the film before it opened. Ortenberg told Screen the release is a marathon not a sprint and the plan is to keep the drama in theatres through the US election on November 5.
A24 released John Crowley’s romantic drama and Toronto world premiere We Live In Time starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh on $225,911 from five screens for a mighty $51,040 average.
Mubi reported Coralie Fargeat’s Cannes sensation The Substance starring Demi Moore added $1.1m from 586 screens in its fourth weekend to reach $11.6m. Sony Pictures Classics reported The Outrun starring Saoirse Ronan earned $101,028 on 200 screens in the second weekend for $612,785.
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