October has delivered Art the Clown a Christmas miracle. So how did an indie underdog slaughter a major DC Comics sequel at the box office? We reached out to our expert, Ryan Scott of /Film to learn more.
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00:00October has delivered Art the Clown, A Christmas Miracle.
00:05So how did an indie underdog slaughter a major DC Comics sequel at the box office?
00:10We reached out to our expert, Ryan Scott of SlashFilm, to learn more.
00:15The original Terrifier has only grossed a few hundred thousand dollars since its debut
00:19in 2016, even accounting for its multiple re-releases.
00:24Terrifier 2, on the other hand, cemented the series' future viability with an $800,000
00:30opening and a total worldwide haul of $15 million.
00:34Given that Terrifier 3 has already passed the total worldwide gross of its predecessor
00:38in the U.S. alone, it's safe to say Art the Clown's reign is only getting started.
00:44According to Ryan Scott, Terrifier has become a true, known commodity in the horror world
00:49over the last two years.
00:51Terrifier 2 is one of the most shocking success stories of 2022, financially speaking.
00:56Both the film's content and its underdog success story have grown the series' cult following,
01:02and even helped push it toward the mainstream.
01:04Scott points out,
01:05"...Art the Clown is everywhere now.
01:08Even people who don't watch these movies have seen him."
01:11Some analysts may have underestimated Terrifier 3, given its lack of conventional star power.
01:17Art the Clown's growing prominence as a horror and Halloween icon has made him a recognizable
01:23and apparently bankable leading man.
01:26By dressing like Santa Claus, silent psycho killer Art the Clown adds a new flavor to
01:31his immaculate brand of slasher mutilation.
01:34For a film in this specific subgenre, this is arguably more important than attaching
01:39a big name to the marquee.
01:41Scott notes that,
01:42When it comes to horror, particularly slashers, the villain can be the star.
01:47In the case of the Terrifier franchise, Art the Clown has become the star.
01:51People want to see what he's going to do next, even if it's something maybe they wish they
01:55hadn't seen.
01:57That's the magic sauce here.
01:59Box office expectations for Terrifier 3 weren't crazy high with Joker 2 opening just a week
02:04before.
02:05But sometimes, things fall into place.
02:08As Scott explained,
02:09With Joker fully adieu opening a week earlier and straight-up bombing, Terrifier 3 ended
02:15up in a power position.
02:16It's just purely circumstantial and, for the filmmakers, downright serendipitous.
02:21Nobody could have predicted this.
02:23Do you still think you're a star?
02:25Scott is far from the only box office expert noticing how this battle of the clowns has
02:30shaken out in favor of the underdog.
02:33Less than two weeks into its theatrical run, Joker 2 stands to lose as much as $200 million.
02:40Enter Terrifier 3.
02:41According to box office analytics company PostTrack,
02:44Fifty-two percent of those that saw the threequel instead of Joker did so because they like
02:49horror.
02:50The Joker sequel awkwardly straddled the line between horror-thriller, musical, and superhero
02:56flick, failing to capture the magic of any genre even in its marketing.
03:00I got the sweetest suspicion that we're not giving the people what they want."
03:05Terrifier 3, on the other hand, is out there, and unapologetic about its identity.
03:10The brand is blood.
03:12And then there are the reviews.
03:15Terrifier 3 has been warmly received by critics and audiences alike.
03:19It holds a Rotten Tomatoes Critics score of 76 percent, and is certified fresh.
03:24Meanwhile, the newly christened Popcorn Meter, formerly the Audience Score, deemed it certified
03:29hot, at 89 percent.
03:31The scores indicate that the film maintains the narrative quality of the previous installment.
03:36But let's not kid ourselves.
03:38Terrifier fans are less interested in the film's dramatic merits, and more interested
03:42in how gross, gory, and scary it is.
03:45In a glowing four-out-of-five-star review for The Guardian, Katherine Bray wrote,
03:54The number of horror films that promise to sicken your soul and shrivel your stomach
03:58is enormous, but the proportion that actually do so, particularly for veteran horror watchers,
04:04is small.
04:05I'm pleased to report that Terrifier 3 is genuinely gruesome."
04:09That's a ringing endorsement for Terrifier fans.
04:12And Kim Newman of Empire doubled down, although it was more of a warning, writing,
04:17Managing to go further over the top and pushing more offense buttons than you think possible,
04:24Terrifier 3 is recommended only for the strong of stomach and hard of heart.
04:28In our own mixed review of the film, Looper hailed it as,
04:31"...the biggest, grossest art attack yet."
04:35A monster budget can be the death of a film that pulls in opening box office numbers,
04:41far outmatching the likes of Terrifier 3.
04:43But the little slasher that could is set to be one of the year's biggest success stories,
04:48not because of its top opening spot or $18 million haul, but because it was made on such
04:54a tiny budget.
04:55Costing only $2 million to produce, Terrifier 3 has almost certainly managed to make back
05:00the entirety of what was invested into its production, and is likely generating favorable
05:05dividends for anyone smart enough to take a financial stake in it.
05:09Add to that the efficiency with which Terrifier 3 managed to find and attract its target audience,
05:15even with one one-hundredth of the Joker 2 marketing budget at its disposal.
05:20The film didn't buy any national ads, and instead focused on a social media-driven campaign,
05:26the likes of which have elevated such lower-budget features as Godzilla Minus One.
05:30And for real fans, Terrifier 3 cleverly partnered with Venmo to set up an Art the Clown hotline,
05:37which would creepily trigger Art to send callers a penny via the app.
05:41The stunt worked, leading to TikTok and social posts about users' experiences calling the
05:46number for themselves.
05:47Low cost, high return.
05:50Let's face it, few of us are brave enough to watch Art rampage on our own, and why would
05:55we want to?
05:56We both know this isn't over.
05:57Apparently, a lot of young moviegoers felt the same way.
06:01According to PostTrak, 49 percent of audience members under the age of 25 showed up with
06:06at least one other person.
06:08A third were there as part of a group of three or more.
06:11And more than half of moviegoers surveyed by PostTrak said they'd encourage their friends
06:16to see the film in theaters, rather than wait for it on streaming.
06:19Clearly, in the angry clown war of 2024, Art the Clown has emerged the people's champion,
06:26as he and director Damian Leone stare down the blood-soaked path to Terrifier 4.
06:31They can take heart that their lucky streak has yet to run out, thanks in large part to
06:36shrewd spending, chilling characters, and, most of all, the fans that have supported
06:40this franchise every step of the way.