‘Terrifier 3’ Star Says He’s Shocked Indie Film Won Weekend Over ‘Joker 2’

‘Tis the season for clowns … and, while “Joker: Folie à Deux” was supposed to reign supreme as Clown Prince of Cinema, a more horrifying harlequin is crushing the box office.

“Terrifier 3” — a low-budget gory horror flick following a serial killer dressed as a clown — hit the box office this past week and has soared past ‘Joker 2’ already … raking in $18 million while ‘Joker 2’ made just $7 million this weekend.

We sat down with David Howard Thornton — who played Art the Clown in all three ‘Terrifer’ films — and, he tells us he’s stunned … calling this a David and Goliath matchup of a small indie film against a massive studio project.

David says the film was approached by studios with financing offers, but the moneymen wanted to change the movies in a way the creative team felt uncomfortable with … so, they turned the offers down.

David says he thinks a big problem with movie theaters is studios aren’t making films people need to watch in big groups … so, there is less incentive to go out and watch a movie. He says “Terrifier 3” is the best when watched in a collective — a major plus in their column.

BTW … David’s got plenty to say about the ‘Joker’ films — watch to the end to hear why he’s so shocked the sequel is bombing.

As you may know … “Joker: Folie à Deux” had a bad opening week at the box office, and seems poised to lose a lot of money. Sources have told outlets like Variety the flick needs to make $450 million to break even. To date, it’s only made around $215 million worldwide.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” has just a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes — and an abysmal score on the review aggregator.