‘Terrifier 3’ Distributor Reveals How ‘David Beat Goliath’ at the Box Office With a $500,000 Marketing Budget

Indie cinema has two new bloodsoaked champions, and their names are Damien Leone and Art the Clown.

This weekend, the Christmas-themed horror threequel “Terrifier 3,” beat out the strong third weekend of Universal/DreamWorks’ “The Wild Robot” and the historically poor second weekend of Warner Bros.’ “Joker: Folie a Deux” to take the No. 1 spot at the box office with an $18.3 million opening weekend from 2,516 theaters.

It’s the fourth-highest opening weekend for a horror film this year, topping movies like Universal/Blumhouse’s “Speak No Evil” and “Night Swim” as well as Lionsgate’s “Never Let Go” and “The Strangers — Chapter 1.”