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SATURDAY AM: Refresh for more updates In one of the year’s second-best triumphs for indie genre cinema after NEON’s Longlegs, Cineverse’s under $5M investment, Terrifier 3, is screaming to an estimated $17M-$18M 3-day after an $8.2M Friday. There’s even a school of thought that this movie could go way higher than that after a B CinemaScore, which is very high for a horror movie by that moviegoer pollster.
At the same time, Warner Bros.’ second weekend of Joker: Folie à Deux is posting a -82% freefall with around $6.7M-$7M per industry estimates — that’s the absolute worst hold for a DC character movie in the history of the brand on the big screen. Triple note, James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios did not steer or shepherd Joker 2. The Joaquin Phoenix-Lady Gaga R-rated musical is even getting kicked out of No. 2 by a cartoon robot, DreamWorks Animation/Universal’s Wild Robot ($13.5M third weekend) and even out of third by Warner Bros.’ own Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (estimated $7.3M).
However, a slew of prestige awards season contenders aren’t finding sizeable audiences, and we’ll have more on that in a bit: Sony’s Saturday Night ($3.7M-$4M), Focus Features’ Piece by Piece ($3.5M), and Briarcliff Entertainment’s The Apprentice ($1.5M).
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FRIDAY PM: Industry midday projections show Cineverse’s Terrifier 3 to be the bigger clown at the box office this weekend, with an estimated Friday around $7.7M for a potential $15M-plus 3-day at 2,514 theaters It would be great story for the business if a little movie like this can hold to this potential, and if it buckles, it’s only because it’s truly fan-frontloaded.
Again, Cineverse kept this strictly marketed to its fanbase; the social media reach on the threequel per RelishMix is 80M across TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram, which is not as wide as, say, a studio movie like Saw X, which counted an SMU of 134M before opening. “While light in reach, the top-cast Lauren Lavera at 166K and David Howard Thornton at 133K are activated,” RelishMix reports about Terrifier 3‘s actors.
Second place goes to Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot at 3,848 locations for what’s $3.6M today, a $13.1M third weekend, -31%, and a running total of $83.3M; standing tall.
Third belongs to Warner Bros’ Joker: Folie à Deux at 4,102 locations, which is seeing a second Friday of $2.8M for an $8M-$9M second weekend, -77%. Put a pin on that. Let’s not make any judgments until Saturday morning. On the high end, that’s $53.5M by EOD Sunday. Joker 2 for the most part keeps all the Imax auditoriums.
Next is Warner Bros’ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at 3,408 locations with a sixth Friday of $1.8M and 3-day of $6.7M, -34%, for a running estimated total by Sunday of $275.2M.
Paramount’s fourth weekend of Transformers One is next at 2,758, with a $1M Friday and 3-day of $4.1M, -23%, for a running total of $53.3M.
And in a sad state of affairs, the rest of the critically acclaimed wide-release entries and aspiring awards darlings aren’t making any waves: Sony’s Saturday Night ($1.55M Friday, $4M wide break at 2,309 sites), Focus Features’ Piece by Piece ($1.25M Friday, $3M weekend at 1,863) and, worst, Briarcliff Entertainment’s The Apprentice with $500K today and $1.3M-$1.5M opening. This speaks to a greater dilemma when it comes to moviegoers’ immediate want-to-see when it comes to smaller films and what they decipher on a streaming menu; not that these titles were meant for streaming. More as it comes this weekend.
FRIDAY AM: 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.
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.
RELATED: ‘Saturday Night’ Cast: Who’s Who In ‘SNL’ Opening-Night Movie From Jason Reitman
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.
RELATED: The Fire Behind The Film: ‘The Apprentice’
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.
