Box Office Bloodbath: Smile 2 and Terrifier 3 Reign Supreme!
Horror Rules the Box Office: Smile 2 and Terrifier 3 Score Big!
Holy moly, horror fans! The box office is drowning in scares, thanks to two seriously spooky sequels. Smile 2 and Terrifier 3 are absolutely dominating, proving that sometimes, sequels totally deliver and even exceed expectations in unexpected ways. Terrifier 3, that blood-soaked slasher fest starring the infamous Art the Clown, opened with a massive $18.9 million— totally crushing its predecessor's entire run (which only earned $15.7 million on a ridiculously tiny $250,000 budget!). That's more than impressive, especially given this smaller initial budget that generated significant initial investment that is clearly far higher in value than that initially proposed value.
But Smile 2? This has even bigger expectations to surpass: its predecessor was that biggest horror hit in all of 2022; having an amazing run that completely made it incredibly successful for an already huge budget that ultimately proved successful; it took in an incredible $217.4 million against a $17 million budget! This alone would raise the anticipation greatly. Will this sequel make it past that incredible financial success? It certainly looks impressive already! The anticipation for those incredible plot elements surrounding pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) cursed by that terrifying smiling entity—all this generated enormous pre-release interest! And this was certainly apparent.
Smile 2’s Stunning Debut: A Top Spot Takeover
According to Deadline, Smile 2 is projected to snatch the number one spot (that top spot taken by Terrifier 3 in its second weekend!), opening at about $23 million! This alone made history: it’s the first time two horror films got that top spot in consecutive weekends! In order to clarify and set the scene, Smile in 2022 also dominated; its top position later replaced by Halloween Ends in its very own second weekend which took over after an epic two weekend showing! This new release matches almost perfectly its original movie; whose initial run was an incredible $22.6 million, so clearly those fears weren't really well-founded!
Meanwhile, Terrifier 3 had a surprisingly great performance. TheWrap predicts it to generate $9.5 million this weekend. That’s a solid 49% drop from its opening, exceeding initial projections and surpassing those general expectations; for context, these kinds of horror flicks generally show declines of 60% or more. So, that's way better. Terrifier 3 sits at number three but totally smashed through $30 million total box office. The previous Terrifier movie had a seriously small budget; showcasing a production’s inherent possibility; emphasizing just how impressive its relatively small-budget origin really was!
What Smile 2’s Success Means: Another Horror Blockbuster in the Making?
Smile 2’s performance might be slightly under initial projections – considering that prior huge worldwide earnings; this was totally a very real and very possible outcome; those higher expectations of course do get placed due to its amazing previous showing. It's NOT a failure, though! That impressive lead; maintaining its current number one spot and initial showing makes it likely it'll surpass $220 million worldwide. This would make it the third biggest film of this year, exceeding several other huge titles: A Quiet Place: Day One, and Alien: Romulus. That’s some incredible numbers.
Breaking even’s typically around two and a half times the budget—meaning Smile 2’s break-even’s likely near $70 million. Word of mouth seems very good, having an amazing rating in Rotten Tomatoes (84% critic; 86% audience—those were amazing compared to its original, 80% critic, 77% audience scores respectively!), indicating more longevity. This is very surprising but quite well-deserved, this is easily the most creative installment so far!
The Verdict: Horror is Back, Baby!
Terrifier 3 and Smile 2’s joint success are totally huge for the horror genre. It bounced back impressively despite 2024 feeling slower. Some major anticipated releases may arrive only later, next year. The actors’ strike and the subsequent writer's strike affected quite a few 2025 releases. But now; it sounds likely that the upcoming releases remain sparse! Those two films dominate until those upcoming releases later on; those might just come to reign next year!
Conclusion: Horror Fans Rejoice!
Smile 2 and Terrifier 3 totally rocked the box office— demonstrating the enormous potential and demand for high quality horror that keeps generating income and making viewers excited! The horror genre remains undeniably relevant. And it's great for the genre to display exactly this level of quality. This means audiences want really well-made horror. These sequels definitely did a good job making this a big reality!
