When “Joker: Folie á Deux” was only in its second weekend, it was another film about an unstable clown, made for 100x less than the Todd Phillips/Joaquin Phoenix sequel, that ended up taking the top spot at the box office over it. Speaking at IndieWire’s Future of Filmmaking Summit this past weekend in a chat moderated by Features Writer Ali Foreman, Cineverse’s Executive Director of Acquisitions, Brandon Hill, and Chief Content Officer, Yolanda Macias, explained the value they saw in Damien Leone’s “Terrifier” films and how they collaborated with others to expand on it.
“So I am not a horror fan, but I completely appreciate a filmmaker’s vision, and when they really know who their fans are, and they are not going to compromise, and even if they have a small budget they’re going to squeeze as much out of it as possible to bring it to the screen. And so that’s what I could see,” said Macias in describing her reaction to seeing “Terrifier 2” for the first time.
When Leone made his first two “Terrifier” films, he did so on his own schedule with a micro-budget and little more than his own independent spirit to push him forward. Thankfully, it paid off, as the films caught the eye of not only a niche audience, but also Cineverse (then Cinedigm), who jumped in to distribute Leone’s sequel and ballooned his budget to $2 million for “Terrifier 3.” It’s now grossed $63 million worldwide. For Macias, the themes and messages underneath all the blood and carnage is what made her see the franchise’s potential.
“What girl doesn’t like a smart and funny guy, even though he’s terrifying,” Macias said, earning a laugh from the crowd at IndieWire’s Future of Filmmaking Summit, “but Art the Clown was the reason that I was sold. He’s trained to be a stage performer. He knows how to use his body, his expressions. He doesn’t say a word. You know exactly what he’s thinking. He’s clever, he’s funny. He steals every scene. And then you have a final girl on top of that, with Lauren. So those were the elements that I understood would reach a broader audience.”
In 2021, Cineverse purchased Bloody Disgusting, one of the producers on “Terrifer 2,” further cementing the franchise’s place within its roster. Hill went on to share how having that team in-house has given them a broader reach both in terms of audience and what it can offer the industry-at-large.
“With Bloody Disgusting, it’s like we’re tapping directly into the audience for this movie,” said Hill. “Obviously, we need to find ways to go beyond that. But it’s a pivotal piece for the ‘Terrifier’ franchise. And there’s a reason why studios and independents come to us, to Bloody Disgusting, specifically to advertise on all their films, by the marketing packages, etc, because there’s a direct line into the audience, and they know that they’re going to get their money’s worth.”
Another vital component of rolling out “Terrifier 3” was Iconic Releasing. The distribution company helped eventize “Terrifier 2,” making it so successful that bigger groups were considered for handling the release of the third entry, but Cineverse saw Iconic knew what it were doing.
“Fathom, of course, had been doing several releases, including, ‘Jeepers Creepers Reborn’ and some other stuff. They maybe had more of the track record,” Hill said. “But at the end of the day, Iconic, they saw what we saw. They were very passionate about it, and ended up being the right partnership for this movie. I think everyone would agree that they did a really good job, and we tried to make this as big as you can from an independent standpoint. And we somehow, on the third movie, I think really took it to that next level collectively.”
Watch the full “Turning Low-Budget Horror Into Box Office Hits” panel above.
Special thanks to our Future of Filmmaking Summit partners: Canva, Kino, SAGindie, The American Pavilion, United for Business, and The Walt Disney Studios.
