Box Office Breakdown for Weekend of 10/13/24
What’s up, Geeks + Gamers? It’s ODIN!
Terrifier 3 DESTROYS Joker: Folie à Deux
Terrifier 3 not only dominated the second weekend of Joker: Folie à Deux… it demolished it and single-handedly proved to Hollywood that their system is not needed for box office success or theatrical distribution. The unrated third installment of the killer clown slasher series opened to $18,300,000 domestically, while the week two drop-off for Joker: Folie à Deux only managed to bring in $7,055,000 after an 81% drop off. Not only is that one of the biggest week two drops in movie history, but it was also enough to drop Joker: Folie à Deux from last week’s first place open all the way to third place, with the fourth place film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, having a decent chance to knock Joker: Folie à Deux down another position when the weekend actuals get in. No matter how you try to spin it (if anyone would even want to try at this point), Joker: Folie à Deux will go down as one of the biggest box office catastrophes in cinematic history.
Moving back to Terrifier 3, it must be stated just how impressive and important this opening weekend is for cinema and movie history. Starting back in 2016, writer/director Damien Leone spent a measly $35-$55 thousand (you heard that right) to make the first Terrifier feature-length film. The movie received only a very small release (as in a handful of theaters) and was able to make about $416 thousand. The next film was made in 2022 for a whopping $250 thousand (catch the sarcasm) and made $805,000 in its opening weekend and $15,702,292 worldwide by the end of its theatrical run. The profit-to-cost margin there is massive. Now, for 2024, we have Terrifier 3, which cost a franchise high of $2 million and has made over $18 million in its domestic opening. Whether you are a fan of the franchise or not, it is easy to see just how impressive this is.
But wait… there’s more! Not only has the Terrifier franchise made for about $2.3 million domestically and over $34 million globally, but it was able to do all of this outside of the Hollywood theatrical distribution network. The second film in the franchise was only released on about 850 screens nationwide by the end of its run, and yet it was able to do so while officially being NR (meaning not rated), which means that it was not submitted to the MPA (Motion Picture Association). Usually, when a film is unrated, studios and theaters are not willing to touch it as far as wide theatrical distribution is concerned. The fact that Terrifier 3 was also released outside of this system and in over 2,500 screens by working directly with theaters – who, now more than ever, are desperate for fresh, new content with an audience – proves that theaters no longer need Hollywood to stay afloat. The hope is that this movie will pave the way for independent creators to step outside of the box and deliver content straight to the theaters without the Hollywood studios and mainline distributors acting as middlemen. This could change the game in theatrical distribution forever.
According to the-numbers.com, the top 5 this weekend domestically were:
- Terrifier 3 ($18,300,000 as a new release)
- The Wild Robot (29% drop in 3rd weekend)
- Joker: Folie a Deux (81% drop in 2nd weekend)
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (30% drop in 6th weekend)
- Piece by Piece ($3.8 million as a new wide release)
Joker: Folie à Deux Has One of the Worst Second Weekend Drops Ever
As I mentioned, Joker: Folie à Deux has seen one of the worst second-weekend performances we have ever seen. Based on this chart from Box Office Mojo, the 81% drop puts Joker: Folie à Deux into the top 20 highest drops for a movie’s second weekend. When you look at the list and see that most of the other movies are the second-weekend drops for re-releases or specialty fare (filmed Broadway shows or theatrical showings of TV shows like The Chosen), one quickly realizes just how bad this is for Warner Bros. and everyone else involved with the film. This means it is the worst drop-off for a comic book movie, a movie that cost $200 million, a mainstream film, and I could go on. To put into further perspective just how bad this is, I will mention that the #15 biggest drop-off was the 2003 film Gigli, which starred Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez and is known as one of the worst movies ever released… yikes.
Based on these numbers, I am projecting that Joker: Folie à Deux will struggle to reach $200 million globally and only has a chance of doing so because of the international numbers. I suspect the movie will end its run between $190-$230 million, which means there is still a chance for the 2023 catastrophe known as The Marvels to beat it. I can also project that the film will lose between $175-$210 million when all is said and done, which means it will easily be a contender for one of the biggest flops of the year. It must be said, however, that even if another film loses more money on paper, there is no doubt who the biggest loser of 2024 will be when all is said and done.
Check out my channel for the latest box office HERE.
If you want further analysis on these or any other films, check out the full charting I do over at my website. Have a wonderful rest of your day, and, as always, God bless!
(If you ever want further insight into my methodology, see my previous articles HERE and HERE, and the RCC method I use to break down movies internationally HERE.)
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