Clown In A Cornfield Joins Terrifier As The Latest Indie Clown Horror Box Office Hit

It wasn't exactly a huge weekend overall at the box office, particularly by summer standards. Marvel's "Thunderbolts" won its second weekend with a $33 million haul, while Ryan Coogler's "Sinners" continued its record-breaking run by adding another $22 million. But while those movies were battling it out atop the charts, and as "A Minecraft Movie" topped $900 million globally, an indie horror movie found a surprising amount of success, albeit with a little less fanfare.

IFC's new slasher "Clown in a Cornfield" opened over the weekend with a $3.6 million domestic box office, good enough for number five on the charts. That's not a monster total on the surface, but it set a record for IFC, a company that has been around for more than two decades. It now ranks as the distributor's biggest opening weekend ever, overtaking last year's acclaimed "Late Night with the Devil" ($2.8 million), which went on to make $10 million domestically and $15 million globally. Much like "Terrifier" before it, it's now part of a growing "scary clown horror movie" trend. More on that in a moment.

The film will get a full month in theaters before it arrives on VOD and, later, the horror-focused streaming service Shudder. Given the streaming deal, this movie already has a very fitting home after its run in theaters, and IFC's business is pretty much built around low-cost movies that can make their money on VOD/streaming/home video. But this opening indicates that director Eli Craig's R-rated horror-comedy targeting teen audiences is cutting through the noise.

"Clown in a Cornfield" centers on Quinn (Katie Douglas), who moves to the quiet rural town of Kettle Springs with her father (Aaron Abrams), who is seeking a fresh start. The town has fallen on hard times after the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down, with tensions brewing between the young locals and the town's elders. With tensions boiling over, a killer clown named Frendo emerges, leaving a trail of mysterious bloodshed in his wake.

The film premiered at SXSW in March, where it was met with a very warm response. I called "Clown in a Cornfield" one of the best scary clown horror movies ever made. The general consensus is slightly more mixed but still airing on the side of positive, as the film holds a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. To what degree it will be able to hold in the coming weeks remains to be seen, but IFC's investment was minimal. Craig told me during our recent interview on the /Film Daily podcast that the budget was "less than half" of $17 million.

As for what the future holds? Let's not get too ahead of ourselves but the movie is based on Adam Cesare's novel of the same name which has sequels. IFC could easily have the makings of a franchise here. After all, IFC's "In a Violent Nature" made $4.5 million and quickly got a sequel. That speaks volumes about the kind of money the company makes with these movies outside of theaters, with the box office almost used as advertisement for an eventual VOD/streaming release.

Damien Leone's "Terrifier" had a lot of similar markings when it arrived in 2016. It was a small movie generating some buzz, in one small part, thanks to Art the Clown. It made very little at the box office, but when "Terrifier 2" arrived and made $15 million in 2022, things changed. It all led to "Terrifier 3" shattering records with an $89 million global haul last year. The cult of Art the Clown built slowly and has led to something of a creepy clown pop cultural moment.

The difference, in this case, is that it's a YA horror film, which potentially has even broader appeal. If "Clown in a Cornfield 2" happens, it could follow a similar path to "Terrifier 2." None of these movies are going to touch Stephen King's "It" at the box office, but it's clear that Pennywise has some company in the creepy clown game. Welcome to the club, Frendo.

"Clown in a Cornfield" is in theaters now.