WhileTerrifier 3’s box office success was already impressive, the horror sequel’s latest record-breaking achievement could substantially reshape the genre in years to come.Terrifier 3’s success is, by any metric, astounding. The $2 million slasher sequel, which features no A-list stars, dethronedJoker 2during its opening weekend to become the number-one movie in America. In the weeks that followed,Terrifier 3’s box office performancewent from strength to strength. As of early November, the sequel has earned over $63 million despiteTerrifier 3’s brutal killsrunning the risk of alienating casual viewers.
Where Is The Little Pale Girl In Terrifier 3?
Terrifier 2’s Little Pale Girl was arguably as scary as Art the Clown himself, but where is she is Terrifier 3 and how is she linked to Vicky?
Even thoughTerrifier 3’s controversial opening scenehad viewers throwing up and passing out, the sequel has still somehow managed to earn both stellar reviews and an incredible box office performance.Terrifier 3’s cliffhanger ending means that the series is certain to continue, and its next sequel may end up performing even more impressively at the box office. However, one specific box office record thatTerrifier 3broke already has bigger implications for the horror genre more broadly. Until recently, unrated movies weren’t generally viewed as a viable commercial prospect.Terrifier 3has changed that.
Terrifier 3 Is The Highest Grossing Unrated Movie Ever
The Slasher Sequel Also Out-earned Every NC-17 Movie
According toBloodyDisgusting,Terrifier 3is the most financially successful unrated movie of all time. The record was previously held byRenaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, which earned $43 million globally upon its 2023 release. While that record was undeniably impressive,Terrifier 3’s $63 million payday has handily outstripped it and the sequel shows no signs of stopping now. This means that, in the near future, it could become financially viable for major studios to release unrated horror movies. This hasn’t historically been the case and that has had a major impact on censorship norms in the genre.
Occasionally, horror movies with a lot of violent content risked earning an NC-17 rating, but these were invariably recut to allow for an R-rating.
In 1990, the MPAA replaced the X rating with the more commercially prohibitive NC-17 rating. While there were a handful of major hits that were rated X, entire cinema chains refused to even carry movies that earned an NC-17 rating. As a result, the rating became associated with adult movies, experimental films, and art movies rather than mainstream hits. Occasionally, horror movies with a lot of violent content risked earning an NC-17 rating, but these were invariably recut to allow for an R-rating if the movie in question had the potential to be a studio hit.
What Terrifier 3’s Unrated Box Office Record Means For Horror
Future Horror Movies May Not Need To Worry About Ratings
Going forward,Terrifier 3proves that not every horror movie needs an R rating to become a major mainstream success. The NC-17 rating used to be anathema to mainstream popularity, and shocking moments likeTerrifier 3’s instantly infamous glass shard scenewould likely have been cut if the movie wanted a rating for its release. The implications that this has for horror as a genre are hard to conceive. Fede Alvarez recutEvil Deadto receive an R in 2013 whileHereditarydirector Ari Aster did the same withMidsommarin 2019. Even 1996’sScreamwas cut to receive an R-rating.
These influential hit movies could have made the landscape of modern cinematic horror darker, more violent, and harsher if they had not been edited. Now, as it looks like unrated movies can become major hits, the possibility of future movies replicatingTerrifier 3’s success seems almost inevitable. TheTerrifierseries is unique, butTerrifier 3’s massively profitable unrated release need not necessarily be a one-off case. Instead, it could be proof that other franchises/movies can risk an unrated release, which could reshape the genre. The horrors listed above could have been very different if they were released unrated.
Terrifier 3’s Unrated Release Outdoes The Most Infamously Gory Horrors
Many Mid-00s Horror Movies Were Cut To Receive R Ratings
AlthoughTerrifier 3’s Vicky and Art the Clownare undeniably sadistic, they are hardly unique in this regard. Horror is filled with famously cruel, violent villains and plenty of earlier filmmakers struggled with the MPAA while bringing their brutal visions to life. In particular, some of the most famous and influential horrors of the mid-00s were trimmed when their original director’s cuts earned NC-17 ratings.
2016
$35,000-$55,000
$416,000
60%
53%
2022
$250,000
$15.7 million
86%
80%
2024
$2 million
77%
94%
2005’sHostel, 2004’sSaw, and 2006’sThe Hills Have Eyesremake were all recut due to their intense gore, but all three spawned sequels despite this. The fact thatTerrifier 3has already almost equaled the latter’s $70 box office take proves that unrated movies are much more viable than they were during the nist recebt heyday of gore-forward, boundary-pushing multiplex horror. It is impossible to know what horror would look like if these movies were released in their uncut, unrated form, butTerrifier 3’s success means this could be the case for new horror movies.
