Talk about a perfect storm.
I still can’t believe I’m sitting here writing an article about how our little slasher movie is the number one film in the entire country.
Yes, it’s true. Terrifier 3 beat all the odds by defeating not only the criminally overly-panned Joker: Folie à Deux but also the modern animated cinematic marvel The Wild Robot.
According to early estimates, Damien Leone‘s Terrifier 3 is estimated to have pulled in $18.2M over the weekend (actuals come in tomorrow), easily taking the top spot at this weekend’s box office.
There was an insane momentum shift when Joker took a critical and fan beating, resulting in a horrific opening and monumental dropoff. This was fueled by a loss of showings, many of which shifted over to Terrifier 3.
Related, critics were mostly supportive of Terrifier 3, propelling the third film to a 78% score on Rotten Tomatoes, earning the film a “Certified Fresh” stamp. The fans showed up this weekend, with the Rotten Tomatoes “Popcorn Meter” sitting at 90% (as of this writing).
I’ve been in this business for 25 years and have never seen anything quite like Terrifier 3. The fans, the fans, the fans. What I saw this weekend was different than A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, Paranormal Activity, and even Saw. My personal experience was theaters jam-packed with hardcore horror fans all celebrating the rise of Art the Clown and the Terrifier franchise – many dressed head to toe in Terrifier merch and several in full-blown make-up. This was a celebration of horror that felt personal in a way that many people will never understand.
As most of you know, Terrifier got its start as a short film in Damien Leone’s anthology, All Hallows Eve, before joining Producer Phil Falcone to create the Terrifier franchise. The first film is considered by many to be an underground grindhouse masterpiece and fans swarmed to support Damien and Phil’s Kickstarter for Terrifier 2. Likening this to discovering a band before anyone else, fans feel a personal connection to Terrifier and were there from day one to support our Terrifier 2 release.
We expected Terrifier 2 to do extremely well with the hardcore fans, but we didn’t expect it to break pop culture and become a national phenomenon. Similarly, with Terrifier 3, we had strong expectations, but not on this level.
It reminds me of the endings of Rocky and Rocky II.
With Terrifier 2, horror fans showed up and punched Hollywood right in the nose. With Terrifier 3, they beat it to a bloody pulp.
This entire industry is against horror films, always quick to declare our genre dead when a single studio-driven horror film flops. Meanwhile, indie horror is as hot and healthy as ever, with films like NEON’s Longlegs to AMC’s Late Night With the Devil making a killing at the box office.
Digressing, Terrifier 3 is truly unprecedented in many ways. First and foremost, it’s controlled by the creators, meaning it’s wholly authentic and doesn’t have any studio interference. They have complete creative control and can drive the franchise and characters in any direction they want. This is so incredibly special in a time where we’re watching all the drama unfold with Friday the 13th and continue to wonder where the hell Freddy Krueger went. Will we ever see another Hellraiser? When will Michael Myers be back? Will they be remakes, requels, or faux-canonized sequels?
However, the biggest issue with studio horror is that their films are typically sanitized. It’s important to remember that this is a business first and art second (unless, of course, we’re talking about Joker), which means the studios need to derisk their investments and make sure their slashers are as accessible as possible to the largest audience. With Terrifier, horror fans are getting pure, unadulterated, uncompromised, and completely unrated cinema, which truly is unprecedented. In fact, we’re having trouble confirming this, but we believe Terrifier 3 might be the only unrated film to open #1 at the box office. It’s also likely to be the highest-grossing unrated film of all time! In regards to 2024, Terrifier 3‘s $18.2M opening beats all the big studios, topping Universal Pictures’ Trap ($15.4M), Lionsgate’s Strangers: Chapter 1 ($11.8M), and Uni’s Night Swim ($11.7M).
There’s a lesson here for the studios that will be ignored, which is what makes Terrifier 3 even more special. This franchise is for the fans, supported by the fans, and made by fans with zero compromise. From day one, Damien and Phil believed in these films on a level I have never seen before. They believed in themselves, their team, and their fans. A real horror family that is uniting this weekend to celebrate true horror in its purest form.
I want to thank Damien and Phil for bringing us along for the ride, their entire team (from Lisa to Michael, Jason, Steven, Jamie, George, Priscilla, and everyone else) for their constant help and support, and the Bloody Disgusting crew (especially John Squires and Meagan Navarro) for holding down the fort during these extremely difficult and stressful months.
Terrifier 3 is for all of us.
On the Terrifier 3 Set, Pictured Left to Right: Brandon Hill, David Howard Thornton, Brad Miska
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