Indie slasher film "Terrifier 3" is leading a weekend filled with curiosity and carnage at the domestic box office, while "Joker: Folie à Deux" is experiencing the steepest decline ever for a comic book movie and one of the largest drops for any film.
 |
| TERRIFIER 3, David Howard Thornton as Art the Clown, 2024. Cineverse /Courtesy Everett Collection |
Cineverse and Icon Events’ "Terrifier" sequel is on track to secure the top spot with an opening in the $16 million to $17 million range from 1,988 theaters.
The closest competitor is "The Wild Robot," which continues to perform well for DreamWorks Animation and Universal. Now in its third weekend, the family film is expected to earn another $13.9 million from 3,854 theaters.
Warner Bros.’ holdover "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" also remains strong, despite being available on premium VOD at home. The Tim Burton-directed sequel is projected to earn between $7.2 million and $7.4 million from 2,408 locations, crossing the $275 million mark domestically in its sixth weekend.
"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" is even outperforming Todd Phillips’ "Joker" sequel, which is plummeting in its second weekend with an estimated $6.6 million to $6.8 million from 4,102 theaters, marking a historic 82 percent decline. Previously, "The Marvels" held the record for the worst second-weekend drop among comic book movies at 78 percent.
While "Terrifier 3" is making a strong debut, several other new nationwide releases — including high-profile awards contenders — are struggling to attract audiences.
Briarcliff’s Donald Trump movie "The Apprentice" — which Trump attempted to block from cinemas — is expected to debut around $1.5 million from 1,740 locations. This puts it in a close race with the holdover "Speak No Evil" for a 10th-place finish, with rival studios predicting the latter will prevail. Pre-release tracking had anticipated a $3 million opening for "The Apprentice."
"The Apprentice," which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and later screened at the Telluride Film Festival, is performing best in liberal strongholds such as New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. It has received decent reviews, though audiences gave it a B- CinemaScore.
Briarcliff, which acquired U.S. rights to the film at the last minute, had only five weeks to market "The Apprentice," launching a Kickstarter campaign to help raise funds for marketing. Briarcliff chief Tom Ortenberg, who was behind the best picture winner "Spotlight," believes "The Apprentice" will grow steadily and that the opening gross doesn’t determine the film’s fate.
Before the pandemic, indie distributors typically opened their awards contenders in New York and Los Angeles to build word of mouth, rather than launching nationwide and risking a quick loss of theaters if the film didn’t draw traffic. Platform releases have become less common.
Focus Features also opted for a nationwide release for its critically acclaimed Oscar hopeful "Piece by Piece," an animated biographical documentary about Pharrell Williams. The film, which has earned a glowing A CinemaScore, is debuting this weekend in 1,865 theaters and is projected to finish in sixth place with $3.5 million. That’s a respectable figure for a documentary.
"Piece by Piece," created in collaboration with LEGO, is in a close race with another awards contender, Jason Reitman’s narrative feature "Saturday Night," a tribute to Lorne Michaels’ "Saturday Night Live." The film also screened at Telluride, which is considered a key launchpad for Oscar campaigns.
From Sony, "Saturday Night" is expanding wide after its first two weekends in select cities like L.A. and New York. The generally well-reviewed film is expected to earn a modest $3.5 million from 2,309 theaters, with a B+ CinemaScore.
Like Briarcliff, Sony believes "Saturday Night" will find its audience over time.
After five consecutive weekends of growth, box office revenue this weekend is projected to be down 45 percent from the same period last year. A significant factor is the underperformance of "Joker: Folie à Deux," but the overall soft marketplace is also contributing.
