Low-Budget Indie Film Unseats Joker: Folie à Deux at the Box Office
Halloween has always been a profitable season for movie producers. When October rolls around, we can count on gory horrific tales of mayhem from Hollywood’s creative minds. This year, Warner Bros. Pictures’ Joker: Folie à Deux was poised to become Halloween’s biggest blockbuster hit.
Surprisingly, the big-budget, Joaquin Phoenix film fell drastically short of expectations. Instead, a little-known indie film called Terrifier 3 stole the top spot and unseated the highly publicized Joker sequel.
Media outlets were quick to notice the fact, pointing out that Joker: Folie à Deux with its $200 million budget performed poorly compared to its first installment in 2019 and Terrifier 3 which only had $2 million to work with.
The relatively unknown Cineverse production raked in $18.3 million during its first week, an impressive feat given its limited finances. Meanwhile, Joker: Folie à Deux fell to the number three spot, earning only $7 million despite its massive marketing and production budgets. Hopes were understandably high with this sequel since the first Joker movie with the same star grossed over $1 billion—a far cry from Folie à Deux’s box office performance.
Clown Vs Clown
It’s an interesting turnout given that both films are about two clowns. The first Joker movie explores the psychological traumas that led to his criminal insanity before becoming Batman’s nemesis. He paints his face with the white and red trademark colors of clowns but with a grisly aesthetic. In the sequel, the writers show how he met Harley Quinn while locked inside Gotham’s Arkham State Hospital.
Similarly, the Terrifier series is about a clown gone psycho. A serial killer dressed as a clown and referred to as “Art the Clown” (played by Hollywood newcomer David Howard Thornton) stalks and murders his victims. The third movie sees siblings Sienna and Jonathan Shaw trying to cope as survivors of Art the Clown’s last killing spree. But as they try to celebrate Christmas, Art returns and unleashes new horrors on the two.
While the Joker sequel may have stumbled, the success of Terrifier 3 shows that sometimes it’s not the budget, but the creativity and connection with audiences that make the difference. In a twist that no one saw coming, the indie horror flick captivated viewers and outshone its high-profile competitor. As Halloween moviegoers continue to flock to theaters, it’s clear that Terrifier 3 has earned its spot as a new cult favorite, proving that even small-budget films can make a big impact at the box office.
