Two murderous clowns will go head-to-head at the weekend box office as “Terrifier 3” and “Joker: Folie a Deux” battle for the top spot on the domestic charts.

Ticket sales for the “Joker” sequel are expected to drop at least 60% to 65% in its second weekend, amounting to $13 million to $15 million. However, that is on the optimistic side. Box office experts wouldn’t be surprised if the offbeat comic book musical suffered a tragic 70% to 75% decline, bringing its revenue to $9 million to $11 million. Hampered by poor reviews and terrible word of mouth, “Joker 2” opened last weekend with a disastrous $37.6 million.

Based on these projections, “Terrifier 3” has the potential to deliver a surprise. The third installment in the “Terrifier” franchise is aiming for $10 million to $13 million from 2,514 locations in its first weekend of release. It would be a huge start for the ultra-gory, low-budget slasher film.

Also in the mix for No. 1 is Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot,” with the well-reviewed family film on track to add $12 million to $13 million in its third weekend of release. To date, it has collected $65.4 million domestically and $102 million worldwide.

The first “Terrifier” was relatively obscure, opening to $123,957 and ending its box office run with $419,000 worldwide in 2016. But the 2022 sequel “Terrifier 2” defied all expectations — and challenged moviegoers not to throw up — as it went to emerged as one of the films of the season. most unlikely successes. It launched for $805,000 and reached a scarily good $10 million domestically and $15.7 million worldwide. And the second entry was able to get those returns without big stars or much promotion. The threequel, again directed by Damien Leone, features the demonic killer clown returning to brutalize a small town. He usually strikes around Halloween, but this time Art the Clown decides to wait until Christmas before unleashing the terror. “Terrifier 3” has surprisingly strong reviews for a slasher film, with an average of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. Iconic Releasing is distributing the film, which has not received a rating from the Motion Picture Association.

For “Joker: Folie a Deux,” it was a shocking collapse for the highly anticipated sequel to the 2019 Oscar-winning hit. The original “Joker” grossed $1.07 billion against a budget of about $60 million, which put some yielded enviable profit margins. The sequel carries a substantial $200 million price tag, which skyrocketed due to lavish fees for director Todd Phillips and stars Joaquin Phoenix (recurring as deranged stand-up Arthur Fleck) and Lady Gaga (who joins as fellow Arkham Asylum inmate Harleen “Lee ” Quinzel). According to sources familiar with the film’s financials, “Folie à Deux” must generate at least $450 million to break even.

Elsewhere at the domestic box office, a small number of new national releases will target single digits.

Sony’s “Saturday Night,” a short look at the first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live,” is expected to gross $3.5 million to $5 million from 2,300 theaters this weekend. The $30 million-budgeted film, directed by Jason Reitman, has grossed $629,000 after two weekends in limited release.

“Piece By Piece,” a documentary that tells the life story of Pharrell Williams using Lego animations, is aiming for $5 million to $7 million from 1,851 locations. Focus Features is releasing the $16 million budget film, directed by Morgan Neville, whose credits include the critically acclaimed Mr. Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” is. as well as “20 Feet From Stardom.”

“The Apprentice,” a biographical drama in which Sebastian Stan portrays the young Donald Trump, is expected to launch with $1 million to $3 million in 1,740 theaters. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and ended up at Briarcliff Entertainment after struggling to find a buyer. The film charts the rise of Trump’s business career and focuses on the former president’s relationship with murderous New York City prosecutor Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Trump has criticized “The Apprentice” and his camp has threatened legal action over the film, saying in a statement: “This garbage is pure fiction that sensationalizes lies that have long been debunked.”