‘Terrifier 3’ is inadvertently dragging a family-friendly animated film to box office success

Art the Clown and Terrifier 3 scared up a storm at the box office this weekend. However, the gory slasher appears to be lending a bloody hand to an unrelated family-friendly animated film.

The $2 million horror film hacked and slashed its way to an estimated $18.9 million at the U.S. box office this past weekend, as per The Hollywood Reporter. More impressively, it slapped the silly out of Joker: Folie à Deux, which continues to dance its way to an early grave in cinemas. For context, Terrifier 3 made nine times more than its budget on opening weekend.

Conversely, Joker: Folie à Deux clowned itself of any chance of making back its production budget – at the very least – by experiencing a record-breaking second weekend low for comic book movies. But hey, in better DC news, James Gunn confirmed the goodest boy in the universe, Krypto the Dog, is set to feature in 2025’s Superman.

The weirdest side effect of Terrifier 3‘s success appears to be the boost in sales for a completely unrelated and unexpected film: The Wild Robot. Say what now?! The Hollywood Reporter believes younger audiences craving bloody horror are sneakily getting around cinema chains’ refusal to sell them Terrifier 3 tickets with a multiplex trick as old as time. The younger generation of horror lovers buy tickets to see the all-ages The Wild Robot, then sneak into the shows for Terrifier 3 to have a gorily good time.

Some people don’t know what to think when they scroll through social media and see pics of kids (even as young as babies) sitting down and waiting for Art the Clown to engage in his Christmas-inspired massacre for two hours. It brings up the debate about whether this is morally right or wrong, and if cinemas should have more stringent measures in place to prevent underage audiences from watching a violent film like Terrifier 3 that already pushes the limits of its rating.

However, the ‘sneaking into a movie by buying a ticket to a different film’ tactic isn’t a new phenomenon. Generations past watched the likes of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre by employing the same tricks of the trade. In fact, the smart ones bought a single ticket and stayed there the whole day, while dodging ushers and cinema staff.

What this behavior demonstrates, however, is the sensational popularity of Terrifier 3 and how it’s become an event for audiences to experience. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone since the film holds a 74% critical approval rating and 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing. It’s the horror movie that everyone wants to watch and tell their pals about it afterward. 

In the case of The Wild Robot, Universal Pictures likely appreciates the extra dollars and cents, even if the viewers aren’t seeing the movie. That said, it’s not like the animated film was struggling to begin with, as it has already conjured up over $150 million worldwide. Regardless, maybe the Universal studio execs should send a fruit basket to Leone and crew as a thank-you.