The latest installment in the Terrifier series bodes well for the franchise as Damien Leone's crazy slasher continues to push boundaries. If you haven't heard, “Terrifier 3” absolutely smashed the world at the box office, taking in $18.3 million in its opening weekend and beating out the woeful box office flop that was “Joker: Folie a Deux” on its way to becoming the number one film in America. Considering that the previous installment, “Terrifier 2,” grossed $15.7 million in its overall run, it's an impressive debut for “Terrifier 3” – called one of the nastiest horror films ever made by /Film owner Jacob Hall.
How can a movie that is just wall-to-wall depravity do so well? Much of it has to do with word of mouth, with audiences apparently eager to test their skills with a film that was already notorious before it was officially released. “Terrifier 3” apparently sparked strikes within the first few minutes of its British screening, following reports of similar incidents during screenings of its predecessor. What's more, the terrifying killer at the center of the films, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton), has been slowly gaining popularity in pop culture since the breakout success of “Terrifier 2” and is now a full-fledged slasher icon.
But even with all this in mind, the success of “Terrifier 3” is still remarkable considering it's a movie with a scene in which a character is flogged with his entrails while wearing a crown of thorns. It's not just the box office that's surprising: audiences seem to be enjoying this paean to barbarism, and the film has received a “B” on CinemaScore – a rare achievement for a horror film and especially shocking considering the film's content. Now, “Terrifier 3” has once again achieved new horror success, this time on Rotten Tomatoes.
Terrifier 3 Breaks New Ground on Rotten Tomatoes
The surprise box office success of “Terrifier 2” was notable in 2022 only because Damien Leone made his indie slasher on a budget of just $250,000. Needless to say, $15 million was an absurd return on that investment. Although it has a relatively huge budget of $2 million, “Terrifier 3” turns out to be an even greater success, not only beating the box office results of its predecessor, but winning acclaim from both critics and mass audiences.
Coming back in August 2024, Rotten Tomatoes announced the new label “Verified Hot”. accompany the launch of PopcornMeter for movies. The new system recognizes the importance of audience response to films at a time when pandering to fans has become the modus operandi of several studios and franchises. The Verified Hot badge is awarded to videos with a Verified Audience Score of 90% or higher and at least 500 verified ratings. This designation is essentially the equivalent of the “Certified Fresh” badge, awarded to films with a critical rating of over 75% and a minimum of 80 reviews.
Now, as noted by film commentator Erik Davis on Twitter/X, “Terrifier 3” has become the first new horror film to be certified Fresh and Verified Hot since the introduction of the PopcornMeter and its new designation. The film currently has a critic rating of 76% and an audience rating of 89%. Rotten Tomato, given the 90% Verified Hot badge requirement, may seem confusing. But as the site itself explains, “If a movie earns Verified Hot status but its popcorn rating falls below 80%, it will lose its Verified Hot designation.” So for now “Terrifier 3” maintains its position as the first new horror film to have both the Certified Fresh and Verified Hot badges next to its name.
Terrifier 3 is a real surprise hit
It could be argued that the success of “Terrifier 3” is largely due to “Joker 2” performing so poorly – at least when it comes to Damien Leone's horror film taking first place at the box office. However, with a B CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes ratings, the film proves that there's something worth watching lurking somewhere amidst this unbridled brutality. In addition to grossing $18 million in its first week, the real surprise is that people like “Terrifier 3”, and considering Leone did everything in his power to scare us all away, it's truly shocking.
“Terrifier 3” is full of shocking moments, but none of them discouraged critics or viewers. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has 83 reviews, which is a significant enough number that you might think its 76% score is a solid summary of the film's quality (though we always encourage everyone not to use RT scores as the final word on whether the movie is worth watching). The average rating, which reflects how critics actually rate the film, is slightly lower, however, at just 6.3 out of 10. Audiences, meanwhile, rated the film 4.4 stars out of five, with over 1,000 verified ratings contributing to this 89% score and title Verified Hot.
“Terrifier 3” was expected to do well after “Terrifier 2” and the film's surprise box office success. But I'm not sure anyone expected such ratings This high for a film about a demonic harlequin brutalizing everyone, including children, during Christmas.
“Terrorist 3” is now in cinemas.
