Box Office: ‘Terrifier 3’ $2.6M in Previews, Set to Beat ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’

Cineverse’s unrated slasher threequel Terrifier 3 grossed out $2.6M in Thursday previews that began at 8 p.m. There’s speculation that this microbudget movie, which cost Cineverse under $5M in its entirety for acquisition and P&A, will topple Warner Bros’ Joker: Folie à Deux from the top spot of the box office in its second weekend with an $11M+ take.

We will see. It all depends if Cineverse’s thrifty marketing campaign finds a greater audience beyond the core the which it’s being promoted: its streaming subs and Blooding Disgusting followers. The horror movie from writer-director Damien Leone is 94% with Rotten Tomatoes audiences, and 78% with critics. Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak didn’t capture audience exits on the pic.

“The early box office numbers putting Terrifier 3 at No. 1 after early previews are far beyond our expectations, and we are thrilled to see how strongly the Terrifier fanbase has come out in support of the franchise’s new chapter,” Cineverse Chairman and CEO Chris McGurk said in a statement Friday morning. “This success is proof that a quality indie film can hold its own theatrically despite being unrated and going up against big studio features and buzzy festival darlings, and is a testament to [producer] Phil [Falcone] and Damien’s vision and connection to those most passionate about the horror genre.”

Terrifier 3’s preview cash is similar to the Tuesday preview take of 2018 Blumhouse/Universal movie The First Purge, which posted a $17.3M 3-day and $31.2M five-day — but keep in mind that’s with a big major-studio spend. It’s also a notch above the $2.5M previews of Warner Bros.’ Evil Dead Rise last year, which grossed a great $24.5M for the 3-day weekend.

Joker: Folie à Deux ended its first week with $44.55M after a $1.1M Thursday, -12% from Wednesday. That first-week take is 19% behind the first week of Marvel Studios’ 2023 bomb The Marvels, which did $54.8M (yes, it was a PG-13 film, just the lowest in the MCU by sheer comp), but it’s 15% ahead of Warner Bros’ Furiosa, which did $38.9M in its first week. Marvels dropped 72% in its second weekend, the worst ever for an MCU title, while Furiosa declined by 60% in its sophomore session. Marvels ended its domestic run at $84.5M, while Furiosa settled at $67.4M.

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Other previews from Thursday night include Focus Features’ Morgan Neville-directed Pharrell Williams Lego documentary, Piece by Piece, which did $450K from 1,500 theaters. It’s expected to make anywhere from $3M-$9M this weekend. The docu received a 60% definite recommend and 4½ stars on PostTrak. Thursday previews began at 2 p.m. Critics like it at 86% RT.

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Sony’s wide break of SNL origins movie Saturday Night made $370K from previews that began at 2 p.m. Thursday. That money will be rolled into today’s take. The Jason Reitman-directed feature is expected to do $3M-$5M this weekend in its national wide break. The only good news here is that audiences like it at 4½ stars and 84% positive on PostTrak, with RT critics score of 80% certified fresh and 92% audience. The movie already has banked north of $731K in its two-week platform release. Last year, Sony’s Dumb Money — which was vying for awards-season glory — did $3.3M at 2,837 theaters in its wide break; the pic’s muted grosses were a result of the actors strike, with talent unable to promote. Saturday Night cost $30M before P&A.

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Briarcliff Entertainment’s The Apprentice movie about young real estate baron Donald Trump and his mentor Roy Cohn didn’t do so well, with $150K in previews after a 4 p.m. start Thursday. Critics love the pic starring Jeremy Strong, Sebastian Stan and Maria Bakalova at 79% certified fresh, but early Thursday audiences on PostTrak gave it 2½ stars and a 45% definite recommend. Briarcliff gave this movie a shot by acquiring it and giving it a big-screen release amid the Trump campaign threatening its production with a lawsuit. Briarcliff is on the hook for P&A.

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