Manfred Mann's hit single “Ha!” from 1968 Ha! “Said the Clown” summed up this weekend’s movie theaters, as “Terrifier 3” (Iconic/Cineverse) easily took the top spot. “Has the king lost his crown?” The second verse goes. Yes, he did, and then some, as “Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.) fell 81 percent and likely to fourth place (the studio claims it fell to third place by $5,000). lies).

“Terrifier” is the third part of the micro-budget, unrated horror series. With a budget of $5 million (including marketing), it more than doubled the already expected opening price of $8 million. Perfectly positioned ahead of Halloween, ahead of next week's “Smile 2” (Paramount), it built on its growing fan base and a smart social media campaign.

With an audience that's reportedly nearly half Latino, “Terrifier 3” saved a bad weekend from getting any worse. It's an impressive feat, especially without an MPA rating, and it could reach $50 million.

The caveat is that we have $18.3 million for #1. In 2021 and 2022, two “Halloween” films opened with over $40 million in same-day streaming. Cineverse and its distributor Iconic have done a great job, but it's not enough to fill the gap with moviegoers.

One problem this week is that other studios stayed away from the second weekend of “Folie” (the first “Joker” fell to $56 million in its second weekend). With “Smile 2” delayed until the following week, the path was clear for “Terrifier 3.”

Four other wide-openers failed to gross a total of $12 million, with Focus's “Piece by Piece” being the best at $3.8 million. We saw strong performances from No. 2 “The Wild Robot” (Universal), down 29 percent, and No. 3 “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (WB), down 30 percent, for a total of $275 million.

None of this can compensate for the disaster that was “Film”. Warners claims the critically derided title beat its own “Beetlejuice” by $5,000, but other studios estimate “Folie” at $6.6 million to $6.7 million. Last Sunday, Warners' opening weekend gross was $40 million, up six percent (usually anything more than three percent less is suspect); We expect “Foil” to be in fourth place when actual results are available.

Not that it matters: In the best case scenario, “Folie” would collapse by 81 percent in its second weekend, setting a dubious record. To date, no new release that opened over $20 million has lost more than 80 percent in its second weekend. At just under $52 million, the total between the U.S. and Canada is likely to be under $70 million. Foreign is doing better ($22.6 million this weekend). The worldwide total is $165 million.

With $300 million or more in production/marketing costs, expect “Joker 2” to reach perhaps $225 million worldwide. The 2019 “Joker” topped $1 billion with lower ticket prices. This is another historic decline.

Given the skyrocketing interest in the sleeper horror film and the complete collapse of the Todd Phillps film, “Terrifier” and “Folie” each reflect the enormous power of social media. All the money WB spent on “Folie” (the Venice premiere spending was probably more than the entire budget for “Terrifier 3”) only increased the chance that the negative reaction would prevail.

While “Megalopolis” (Lionsgate) disappointed with its $4 million opening gross, to its credit it did better than any comparable release this week. “Piece by Piece,” Morgan Neville's animated Pharrell Williams documentary, received an A Cinemascore and fifth place, ahead of No. 7 expansion “Saturday Night” (Sony) and the more limited anime “My Hero Academia: You're.” Next”. ” (Toho) Eighth.

In 10th place is “The Apprentice” (Briarcliff) with just over $1.5 million. The Donald Trump origin drama was praised by stars Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong but failed to attract anti-Trump voters. The recently released documentary “Vindicating Trump” was much more successful with Trump supporters. For once, the candidate showed real restraint by not mentioning the film. Had he done that, it might have had a better chance.

“We live in time”

Supported by multiple question-and-answer screenings, John Crowley's romantic drama “We Live in Time,” starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, grossed $226,000 ($45,182 per location) in five New York/Los Angeles theaters. That's decent, but less than “Saturday Night” two weeks ago ($270,000, also in five). The expansion will take place in top cities this Friday and in additional cities on October 25th.

In a difficult special season, it is to the credit of “The Substance” (MUBI) that it went far from the start. Despite only having 586 theaters left, it grossed more than $1.1 million this weekend, for a total of just under $12 million. It could exceed $15 million, which is at the high end of expectations.

Total revenue was $74 million, down 45 percent from last year (when “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” debuted). The decline has been 11 percent since the beginning of the year.

Top 10

1. Terrible 3 (Iconic/Cineverse) NEW – Cinemascore: B; Metacritic: 61; Estimate: Budget: $2 million

$18,300,000 in 2,514 theaters; PTA (per theater): $7,279; Cumulative: $18,300,000

2. The wild robot (Universal) week 3; Last weekend #2

$13,450,000 (-29%) in 3,854 (-143) theaters; PTA: $3,490; Cumulative: $83,730,000

*3. Joker: Folie à Deux (WB) Week 2; Last weekend No. 1

$7,055,000 (-%) in 4,102 (no change) theaters; PTA (per theater): $1,720; Cumulative: $51,611,000

*4. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros.) week 6; Last weekend #3

$7,050,000 (-30%) in 3,408 (-168) theaters; PTA: $2,069; Cumulative: $275,617,000

* (actual rank will be determined after Sunday earnings are reported)

5. Little by little (Focus) NEW – Cinemascore: A; Metacritic: 62; Estimate: Budget: $16 million

$3,800,000 in 1,865 theaters; PTA: $2,038; Cumulative: $3,800,000

6. Transformers One (Primary) week 4; Last weekend #4

$3,650,000 (-32%) in 2,758 (-348) theaters; PTA: $1,175; Cumulative: $52,851,000

7. Saturday evening (Sony) Week 3; Last weekend #19

$3,435,000 (+1,168%) in 2,309 theaters; PTA: $1,488; Cumulative: $4,189,000

8. My Hero Academia: You are next (Toho) NEW – Cinemascore: A-

$3,007,000 in 1,845 theaters; PTA: $1,630; Cumulative: $3,007,000

9. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Disney) REISSUE

$2,300,000 in 1,700 theaters; PTA: $1,353; Cumulative: $2,300,000 (Reissue).

10. The Apprentice (Briarcliff) NEW – Cinema Music: B-; Metacritic: 64; Estimate: Budget: $16 million

$1,580,000 in 1,740 theaters; PTA: $908; Cumulative: $1,580,000

Other specialized/independent titles

Films (Limited, Limited expansions) are listed by week of release, starting with films that opened that week; After the first three weeks, only films grossing over $5,000 will be shown. Metacritic scores and first film festivals were included if available.

We live in time (A24) NEW – Metacritic: 61; Festivals include: Toronto 2024

$225,991 in 5 theaters; PTA: $45,182

Average Joe (Fathom) NEW

$1,116,000 in theaters; PTA: $651

The cruise (Oscilloscope) NEW EDITION

$5,573 at 1 theater; PTA: $5,573

Review (GKids) Week 2 2

$239,320 in theaters; PTA: $1,477; Cumulative: $1,548,000

White bird (Lionsgate) Week 2

$755,000 in 1,038 (+20) theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $3,041,000

The outrun (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 2

$101,028 in 200 (-308) theaters; PTA: $505; Cumulative: $612,785

Nurse invisible (RBL) Week 2

$9,640 at 2 theaters; PTA: $4,820; Cumulative: $28,460

Separated (Submarine Deluxe) Week 2

$4,597 at 2 (+1) theaters; PTA: $2,499; Cumulative: $12,907

Daaaaaali! (Music Box) Week 2

$7,000 in 13 (-6) theaters; PTA: $538; Cumulative: $12,837

Megalopolis (Lionsgate) Week 3 1,854

$230,000 in 227 (-1,627) theaters; Cumulative: $7,344,000

lee (Roadside Sights) Week 3

$104,565 in 151(-314) theaters; Cumulative: $1,700,000

Justify Trump (SDG) Week 3 429

$15,500 at 67 (-362) theaters; Cumulative: $1,351,000

The substance (MUBI) Week 4

$1,141,000 in 586 (-100) theaters; Cumulative: $11,624,000

Another man (A24) Week 4 265

$46,971 in 103 (-162) theaters; Cumulative: $

Am I racist? (SDG) Week 5

$115,000 in 207 (-355) theaters; Cumulative: $12,150,000