Without Joker 2, flops have no punchline.

But first, let’s talk about Art the Clown. Terrifier 3 made history with a fantastic $18 million. That is the best opening ever for an unrated movie in the modern box office era. Keep in mind that if Terrifier 3 had been given an MPA rating, it would have been an NC-17. For those keeping score, Showgirls remains the only NC-17 to ever get a wide release.

If you’re wondering how this happened, it’s because Terrifier 2 proved to be such a sleeper hit back in 2022, and then found new life after that on streaming. Never before had a movie this gory and violent sort of reached some level of mainstream appeal. Don’t get me wrong. At the end of the day, we’re still talking about a franchise with a niche audience, which is why I imagine Terrifier 3 is going to be frontloaded. But who cares? This is a huge win for indie horror, and for homicidal clowns.

And speaking of homicidal clowns, Joker 2 has nothing to laugh about. It plunged 81%, which is worse than even where pessimistic projections had it. Ugh. Bottom line is that no one likes this movie (okay, I don’t mean that literally; “someone” out there likes this movie), which is why it is currently sitting with only $50 million in the bank. Ugh again. As far as recent comic book flops go, Joker 2 is going to make more money than Madame Web, but not Morbius or The Marvels (though that film remains the biggest financial bomb thanks to its insane $273 million+ price tag).

Joker 2 isn’t the only musical in theaters, though. The Pharrell Williams biopic/documentary Piece by Piece opened to $3.5 million, which I guess technically makes it the lowest grossing Lego Movie to date. This is a nifty idea for the genre (if not also a hilariously capitalist one), and reviews were solid. If we compare this to other documentaries, Piece by Piece is doing pretty well. But as an animated movie, it’s a disappointment.

Unfortunately “disappointment” really applies to Saturday Night as well, despite its awards hopes. Same goes for—sighs—The Apprentice, but really, who wanted to watch a film about Donald Trump right now? I don’t care if the man threatened bullshit legal action over it. That still doesn’t make it something I’m going to rush out to see.

Anyway, the top ten, via Deadline

1. Terrifier 3 (Icon/Cinev) 2,514 theaters, Fri$8.2M, Sat $5.9M Sun $4.1M 3-day $18.3M/Wk 1
2. The Wild Robot (DWA/Uni) 3,854 (-143) theaters, Fri $3.8M (-23%) Sat $5.4M Sun $4.1M 3-day $13.45M (-29%), Total$83.7M/Wk 3
3. Joker: Folie à Deux (WB) 4,102 theaters, Fri $2.2M (-89%) Sat $2.8M Sun $2M 3-day $7.055 (-81%), Total $51.6M/Wk 2
4. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (WB) 3,408 (-168) theaters, Fri $1.97M (-29%) Sat $3M Sun $2M 3-day $7.05M (-30%) Total $275.6M/Wk 6
5. Piece by Piece (Foc) 1,865 theaters, Fri $1.5M, Sat $1.3M Sun $990K $3.8M/Wk 1
6. Transformers One (Par) 2,758 (-348) theaters, Fri $1M Sat $1.5M Sun $1.09M 3-day $3.65M (-32%), Total $52.8M/Wk 4
7. Saturday Night (Sony) 2,309 (+2,288) theaters, Fri $1.3M (+1200%) Sat $1.2M Sun $901K 3-day $3.4M (+1159%), Total $4.1M/Wk 3
8. My Hero Academia: You’re Next (Toho) 1,845 theaters, Fri $1.36M Sat $952K Sun $695K, 3-day $3M/Wk 1
9. Nightmare Before Christmas (Dis) 1,700 theaters, Fri $759K Sat $890K Sun $651K3-day $2.3M Lifetime cume $89.9M/Wk 1 (re)
10. The Apprentice (Briar) 1,740 theaters, Fri $590K Sat $550K Sun $440K 3-day $1.58M/Wk 1