Damien Leone's Terrifier 3 has piled up plenty of box office records and milestones since its early October debut, thanks in large part to the ever-growing popularity of its charismatic killer, Art the Clown, who has become a legitimate modern horror icon. Despite Terrifier 3 being so gory and violent that it remained unrated, the holiday-themed threequel defied the odds and became one of the five highest-grossing horror movies of 2024. Terrifier 3 spilled so much blood, and in such a depraved fashion, that audience members were reportedly getting sick at some of its earliest screenings.
Instead of being put off by the Terrifier franchise's bloodiest scenes, modern audiences responded with curiosity and enthusiasm, and strong word-of-mouth helped propel Terrifier 3 to heights previously untouched by unrated horror movies. While the spectacle of gore and violence certainly plays a major role in the popularity of Leone's grisly slasher franchise, that isn't the only reason it has evolved into a box office and cultural phenomenon. In fact, there is one element that is far more responsible for the franchise's popularity than the blood and guts or the entertaining supernatural narrative.
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Terrifier 3 Box Office: Totals, Worldwide, Opening Explained
The third chapter in Damien Leon's slasher series, Terrifier 3 shocked box office pundits with its incredible opening weekend and sustained success.
Terrifier 3's Success Is A Result Of Art The Clown's Rising Popularity
The Franchise's Central Slasher Is Now A Pop Culture Icon
The Terrifier franchise may be defined by its shocking violence and gore, but even its grisliest murders, like Terrifier 2's controversial bedroom scene, aren't completely unique in the annals of the splatter film subgenre. What sets the Terrifier movies apart from other slashers is the mysterious killer at its center, Art the Clown. The completely unique character portrayed by David Howard Thornton has captured the public's interest like few horror figures ever have, even including icons like Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, and Jason Voorhees.
Movie | Release Date | Budget | Box Office Gross | RT Tomatometer Score | RT Popcornmeter Score |
Terrifier | 2016 | $35,000-$55,000 | $416,000 | 60% | 53% |
Terrifier 2 | 2022 | $250,000 | $15.7 million | 86% | 80% |
Terrifier 3 | 2024 | $2 million | $48.2 million (and counting) | 78% | 86% |
Beginning with Terrifier in 2016, each subsequent chapter of the Terrifier franchise has churned out even more profit, along with positive critical reception. The increasing box office numbers are a direct result of Art becoming a mainstream pop culture figure. Terrifier 3's staggering box office totals are ahead of 2024 movies with massive budgets and A-list actors, like Speak No Evil, The First Omen, and Immaculate, indicating that it's being seen by more than the baseline horror movie audience. Simply put, people who wouldn't typically show up to the theater for horror movies are showing up for Art the Clown.
Art The Clown Is A Modern Horror Icon Because He's Hilarious & Deadly
Art Surpasses Other Slashers Because He's Genuinely Funny
The incredible profitability of Art the Clown has confounded some industry experts, but the reason that Art has become even more bankable than well-established slashers like Michael Myers is because he brings something completely fresh to the subgenre. While silent, seemingly immortal slashers are common, none of them are as legitimately funny as Art. Actor David Howard Thornton brings an incredible amount of humor to Art with his top-notch physical performance, including facial expressions and body language that bring more personality to the character than most actors are able to wring out of a script full of lines.
While Art is undoubtedly as deadly (if not more deadly) than his contemporary slashers, it's the humor that sets Art apart and makes him so much more popular. While it includes brutal chainsaw kills and shocking axe murders, Terrifier 3 is loaded with funny scenes in which Art torments his victims, or simply emotes what he's feeling and thinking with no audience at all. Where traditional slashers have typically complemented violence with sex, the Terrifier franchise complements violence with comedy thanks to Art the Clown, which makes the movies more entertaining by far.
How Art The Clown's Popularity Exploded
The Demonic Clown Has Gone Viral In Multiple Ways
From his origins in an indie movie made for $55,000 to toppling the latest Joker movie at the box office, there is no denying that Art the Clown is a legitimate pop culture icon after Terrifier 3. For example, on Halloween 2024, Art the Clown rang the bell on the New York Stock Exchange, per CNN. His meteoric rise in popularity can be traced back to the viral nature of Terrifier 2, which broke into the public consciousness after reports of people passing out at the aforementioned bedroom scene, and subsequently went viral as moviegoers' curiosity was piqued.
While David Howard Thornton has played Art the Clown in all three Terrifier movies, he was previously portrayed by Mike Giannelli in Leone's short films and All Hallow's Eve , Art's first feature film appearance, before he retired from acting.
While those reports certainly got eyes on Terrifier 2, Art's popularity skyrocketed before the release of Terrifier 3 thanks to gifs of his animated facial reactionsgoing viral on TikTok as a meme. Once again, it wasn't the gore and violence that encouraged Art's popularity, it was how funny he is as a character. There are even theories that the younger, social media-conscious generation of moviegoers showed up for Art but aren't represented in the box office totals, as teens were reportedly buying tickets for Dreamworks' animated movie The Wild Robot and sneaking into Terriifer 3.
Why Art's Popularity Hasn't Even Hit Its Peak
The Terrifier Franchise Will Continue To Grow After Terrifier 3's Popularity
As swift and incredible as Art the Clown's rise in popularity has been, there is a good chance that it is nowhere near its peak yet. Each chapter of the Terrifier franchise has built upon its predecessor at the box office, and after the remarkable audience response to Terrifier 3, it seems likely that the trend will continue for Terrifier 4, which is in development. Once Terrifier 3 hits streaming services, the viral word-of-mouth will push many people who didn't see Terrifier 3 in theaters to check it out there, building Art's audience even further.
Due to its lack of studio affiliation, Terrifier 3 will debut on the streaming platform Screambox, which is the exclusive platform owned by Cineverse, Terrifier 3 's distributor.
As more and more people become familiar with Art's antics, it's a near-guarantee that Terrifier 4 will be treated with the type of anticipation and hype of mainstream franchises. As long as Damien Leone continues to deliver quality movies, there is no reason why Art's popularity won't rise even higher. It remains to be seen if anything interesting happens as far as changes to marketing or studio involvement from Terrifier 3 to Terrifier 4, but as long as Art the Clown is at the center of the next chapter, it's sure to be a hit.
Source: CNN, KnowYourMeme
Terrifier 3 follows Sienna and her brother as they attempt to move past the traumatic events of Art the Clown's Halloween massacre. As they embrace the Christmas season, Art reemerges, intent on turning their holiday into a nightmare, continuing his reign of terror.
Director Damien Leone
Release Date October 11, 2024
Studio(s) Dark Age Cinema , Fuzz on the Lens Productions
Distributor(s) Cineverse
Writers Damien Leone
Runtime 125 Minutes
English (US) ·