There's only room for one killer clown at the top of the box office charts.

“Terrifier 3” quickly made it to No. 1 in North America and took in a whopping $18.3 million in its opening weekend from 2,514 theaters. It's a great start to the extremely gory, independently produced, low-budget slasher film about a demonic clown who brutally attacks a small town.

Meanwhile, “Joker: Folie á Deux,” which topped the box office last weekend, came in third with $7.055 million from 4,102 theaters. It could end up in fourth place, behind holdover “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” once the final numbers are tallied on Monday.

The offbeat comic musical, starring Joaquin Phoenix as a reclusive stand-up comedian and part-time clown, suffered a tragic 82% drop in ticket sales compared to its already disastrous $37.6 million debut. It ranks as one of the biggest second-weekend drops for the superhero genre, falling more sharply than last year's misses of “The Marvels” (78.1%), “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (69.9%) ), “Shazam”. : Fury of the Gods” (69%) and “The Flash” (72.5%).

To date, “Folie a Deux” has grossed $51.6 million domestically and $165.3 million worldwide. The Warner Bros. film is worth a hefty $200 million and is unlikely to come close to the $450 million needed to break even, according to sources familiar with the financials.

“Terrifier 3” has garnered surprisingly positive reviews and audience response for such a disturbing film, earning a “B” on CinemaScore and 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. The blood-soaked threequel, which was not rated by the Motion Picture Association, has sparked discussion about violence, and distributors Cineverse have set up a hotline for moviegoers to complain about the carnage.

The third “Terrifier” installment has already surpassed the overall global success rate of its predecessor “Terrifier 2” from 2022. That film defied the odds — and equally challenged moviegoers not to vomit — by grossing $10 million domestically and $15.7 million worldwide, a frighteningly good result for the microbudget production. The third film, again directed by Damien Leone, stars the sadistic clown Art, who usually strikes around Halloween, but this time decided to wait until Christmas to unleash his terror.

“This is an outstanding start to a third episode of an indie horror series,” said analyst David A. Gross of film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “The series isn’t on the level of studio horror films – those are bigger films – but (…) it’s a great payoff.”

Newcomer “Piece By Piece,” a documentary that tells the life story of Pharrell Williams through Lego animation, fell short of expectations, finishing in sixth place with $3.8 million from 1,865 locations. Focus Features is releasing the film on a $16 million budget, which received a promising grade of “A” on CinemaScore and holds an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. Morgan Neville, whose loyal colleagues include the acclaimed Mr. Rogers documentary “Won't You Be My Neighbor?” and “20 Feet From Stardom,” directed the documentary.

“Music biopics and Lego both have a strong track record on the big screen. This hybrid is not at the level of these individual genres,” says Gross. However, he adds: “The cost was reasonable. The film will do well in secondary markets and become profitable there.”

Sony's “Saturday Night” struggled to break through to mainstream audiences after two weekends in limited release. The high-profile look at the premiere of “Saturday Night Live” landed at No. 7 over the weekend with a muted $3.4 million from 2,300 theaters. The Jason Reitman-directed film cost $30 million and has staying power to show (and some rake in awards) to make a profit.

Another new release, “The Apprentice,” dipped to No. 11 with $1.58 million from 1,740 venues. The biographical drama, in which Sebastian Stan portrays a young Donald Trump, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and struggled to find a buyer until Briarcliff Entertainment acquired the rights. Reviewers and audiences had mixed opinions on the film, which received a “B-” on CinemaScore and a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. One prominent critic was Trump himself, who threatened legal action over the film. His team issued a statement over the summer saying: “This garbage is pure fiction, ripping apart long-debunked lies.”

Universal and DreamWorks Animation's “The Wild Robot” took second place at the domestic box office with $13.45 million in its third weekend. The well-reviewed family film has grossed $83.73 million domestically and $148 million worldwide to date.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and “Transformers One” rounded out the top five. The former, a sequel to Tim Burton's 1988 horror comedy, took fourth place (always is just behind “Joker 2”) with $7.050 million in its sixth weekend on the big screen. The “Beetlejuice” sequel grossed $275 million in North America and $420 million worldwide. The latter, an animated origin story about Optimus Prime and Megatron, secured fifth place in its fourth release with $3.65 million, ahead of several newcomers. So far, the company has earned $52.8 million domestically and $111 million worldwide.

With “Joker 2” failing to bring the box office to life, its year-to-date revenue is 11.2% behind the same point in 2023 and 26.4% behind 2019, according to Comscore.

“This will be a very low box office overall that will pale in comparison to the same time a year ago when 'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' had a huge debut,” said Comscore senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “It’s just part of the box office ups and downs that will characterize 2024 for movie theaters.”