‘Terrifier 3’ tops box office, Trump film ‘The Apprentice’ fizzles

NEW YORK (AP) — The choices on the movie marquee this weekend included Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker, a film about Donald Trump , a “Saturday Night Live” origin story and even Pharrell Williams as a Lego . In the end, all were trounced by an ax-wielding clown.

“Terrifier 3,” a gory, low-budget slasher from the small distributor Cineverse, topped the weekend box office with $18.3 million, according to estimates Sunday. The film, a sequel to 2022’s “Terrifier 2” ($15 million worldwide in ticket sales), brings back the murderous Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) and lets him loose, under the guise of Santa, at a Christmas party.