The Terrifier horror film franchise is continuing to defy the odds with its latest milestone. Terrifier 3, the third installment following sadistic killer Art the Clown, is the No. 1 movie in North America. The low budget indie film reached $18.3 million during its opening weekend.

Buzz has surrounded the film since its announcement in 2022, and the interest has only grown stronger through audience reactions at early screenings. The hyper violent movie isn’t rated by the Motion Picture Association and is relentless in its gore. During the UK premiere, it was reported that 11 attendees left before the movie ended with 9 of those walking out during the opening scene. France has issued a rare ban declining anyone under 18 years of age from seeing the movie. Some theaters are posting warnings beside screening doors and social media reports across the US claim that people have walked out, fainted, or vomited while watching the movie.

The Terrifier franchise began in 2011 when writer, director, special effects, and make-up artist Damien Leone created the short film of the same name. Art the Clown would then appear in Leone’s anthology horror film All Hallow’s Eve in 2013, before landing his full-length Terrifier movie in 2016.

David Howard Thornton, a theater actor who studied silent film comedians like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, stepped into the role of Art the Clown in Terrifier. His unsettling performance, Leone’s multifaceted talent, and the lack of studio restrictions (it was funded via Indiegogo) made Terrifier a word of mouth hit among horror fans. Leone launched an Indiegogo campaign for the second movie in 2019, reaching its modest $50,000 goal in just three hours. It arrived in theaters in October 2022, turning an initial planned four-day run into a few weeks based on ticket sales and audience buzz.

Terrifier 3 is building on the franchise’s success and has already bested Terrifier 2’s theatrical run, which earned $11 million domestically in 2022. It took the top spot from Joker: Folie à Deux (which is somewhat ironic because Thornton has repeatedly stated his interest in playing the DC villain at some point).

The movie sees the return of Terrifier 2’s final girl Sienna (Lauren LaVera) and her brother Jonathan (Elliott Fullam) once again being stalked by Art the Clown, only this time it’s during Christmas instead of Halloween. Samantha Scaffidi is back as Art survivor Victoria Heyes, and the movie also stars Daniel Roebuck, Antonella Rose, Margaret Anne Florence, and Bryce Johnson.