Audiences are apparently ready for a different kind of clown as “Terrifier 3” kicks off “Joker: Folie a Deux”'s second week at the weekend box office. Gorefest's “Terrifier 3” grossed $8.2 million on Friday, including a whopping $2.4 million in Thursday previews, meaning it could gross more than $17 million over the weekend.

“Terrifier 3” is playing in 2,514 locations via distributor Cineverse, led by Chris McGurk. The bloodthirsty threequel is stirring up controversy for its violence, and in a sign of good old-fashioned horror movie presentation skills, the film has set up a hotline for people who want to complain about the carnage.

Meanwhile, family animated tale “The Wild Robot” arrives in Week 3 and its sixth weekend from Warner Bros. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” had more action Friday with $1.95 million than “Joker: Folie a Deux,” which opened on Friday plunged more than 80% to $2.2 million.

The Warner Bros. sequel starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga is estimated to gross just under $7 million over the weekend, bringing its total to $46.7 million. DreamWorks Animation/Universal's “The Wild Robot” brought in $3.8 million Friday, giving it a potential weekend haul of $13.8 million.

Close behind “Joker” was the first weekend for Pharrell's Lego biopic “Piece by Piece,” which opened with $1.5 million on Friday, and “Saturday Night” opened with $1.3 million on Friday. Focus Features noted that “Piece by Piece” has an “A CinemaScore” rating and is expected to gross $3.5 million in its opening weekend. In its fourth week, Paramount's “Transformers One” grossed $1 million on Friday, bringing its weekend estimate to $4.16 million.

Ticket sales for the second weekend of the “Joker” sequel were expected to be at least in the double digits, so the massive decline was larger even with more pessimistic estimates. “Joker: Folie a Deux” opened last weekend to a lackluster $37.6 million after poor reviews and unenthusiastic word of mouth.

From a total of 2,309 locations, “Saturday Night” is expected to bring in more than $3.7 million over the weekend and a total domestic gross of $4.45 or more.