Terrifier 2 has been making great money despite people getting sick during the movie. A year after the events of the first movie, Art the Clown makes his maniacal return dismembering his victims in a gory fashion with a big smile on his face. While Terrifier 2 may have been made on a low budget, you better believe it’s earning so much more back in box office sales.
Sometimes, a film's budget has nothing to do with how successful a movie can be. On a minimal budget of $250,000, Terrifier 2 made 30 times more of its budget back in box office money. According to Box Office Mojo, this gross-out slasher made $403,900 on its opening day on October 6th. Then its first weekend out, it made $805,000. Two weekends later, Damien Leone’s original sequel ended up reaching the million-dollar peak at $1,030,500. This is a 28% increase, which is shocking not only because of its low budget but also because of its lack of promotions. From initially opening in 770 theaters to playing currently at 1,550 theaters, Terrifier 2 earned $1.8 million this past weekend and has made $7,638,050 in total to date.
It’s understandable why this low-budgeted slasher movie didn’t have a whole lot of advertisement when it first came out. The only marketing it had was a teaser trailer released on July 24, 2020 that made sure to offer one minute of the gory showcase practices of Art the Clown. But, reports came out of fans vomiting during the movie, and horror fans just couldn’t help but wonder what the big deal was about this movie. Even an ambulance had to be called to one theater due to the vomiting and fainting from its gory spectacle. Proves that the hype of a project literally making you sick won’t steer theatergoers away, but will help those ticket sales pour in.
The preceding movie Terrifier was released on March 15, 2018, at an even smaller budget of $35,000. This horror film had a very limited release with its premiere at the Telluride Horror Show Film Festival in 2016 and then screened at the Horror Channel FrightFest a year later. This independent horror film was then picked up by Dread Central Presents and Epic Pictures for a limited release in 2018. So, it appears only die-hard horror fans would have had access to Terrifier. But, original horror movies have been a hit this year with Barbarian making solid numbers at the box office earning $42 million worldwide at a $4.5 million budget, Pearl earning $9.4 million at a million-dollar budget, and Smile having a box office boost earning $186 million at a $17 million budget. So, people this year really were looking for a good scare.
Not only did Terrifier 2 have great box office numbers, but praiseworthy reviews from the critics. CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg’s review of Terrifier 2 felt this terrifying sequel was “100% disgusting” as advertised and a great reminder of why people love horror movies. While Terrifier was only memorable for its graphic special effects, many critics felt the story's development was lacking, earning it 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. It appears that the film’s sequel made up for that. It lucked out at 87% on Rotten Tomatoes with critics saying it’s a great successor of its predecessor for creating memorable characters and stellar performances of David Howard Thornton and Lauren LaVera. This is exactly what a sequel should be like where it truly is bigger and better than its last film.
Terrifier 2 truly lives up to its name in earning box office bank despite its small budget. This can be a great lesson to upcoming horror filmmakers that a budget does not make its movie. If you can give audiences something terrifying to look forward to, they’ll be willing to give it a chance. You can watch the newly released movie in theaters now.
