This weekend brought a shocking act of clown-on-clown violence as Damian Leone’s horror sequel “Terrifier 3” brutally cut down “Joker: Folie à Deux” at the box office. Todd Phillips’ comic book movie, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, got off to a disappointing start last week with a $37.8 million debut. But it’s now on track to suffer an absolutely shocking 82% drop in its second weekend, with an estimated Friday-to-Sunday total of just $6.8 million (per The Wrap).
That’s not only the worst sophomore drop in the history of DC movies — it’s the worst second weekend drop ever for a Hollywood comic book movie, breaking the record previously set by “The Marvels” (80%).
There’s a certain poetry (especially if you’ve seen the movie) to “Joker: Folie à Deux” being slain by a fellow jester. The monster at the heart of “Terrifier 3” is David Howard Thornton’s Art the Clown, a silent but charismatic ghoul who deals out horrifying violence with a cheeky grin on his face. The series kicked off with 2016’s “Terrifier” but really took flight with “Terrifier 2,” which doubled down on the extreme gore of the first film while adding more polish and more plot.
“Terrifier 3” is on track to gross $16 million in its opening weekend, which means it has already surpassed the global box office total for the previous movie ($15 million). This sequel had the most lavish production budget for the “Terrifier” franchise so far: $2 million. Meanwhile, “Joker: Folie à Deux” had a $200 million production budget, including $20 million apiece for Phoenix and Phillips, and $12 million for Gaga.
