Like a bad habit that continues, Hollywood gets another lesson with the success of Terrifier 3 against the failure of Joker: Folie à Deux.

The past few weeks have seen two clowns battle it out at the box office. On the one hand, the crowd favorite and the one designated without hesitation as the winner, Joker: Folie à Deux. With a five-star cast and a stratospheric budget of $200 million, it followed on from the billion-dollar first installment. On the other hand, in a much more terrifying costume but at a much lower price, is Terrifier 3, mainly known to fans of the series or of the violent horror genre. With its meagre $2M budget, Terrifier seemed a fairly guaranteed success, but still remained within the constraints of rather limited distribution due to its age restrictions and disconcerting violence.

But here we are, after the fight, and expectations couldn’t have been more subverted for the studios and producers at Warner. Joker: Folie à Deux was down 80% at the box office in its second week, while Terrifier 3 was a big hit. Admittedly, Warner’s production seems to have won the day with its $203 million gross compared to Terrifier‘s $63 million. But one is well within budget, while the other is likely to lose the studio hundreds of millions of dollars.

It’s not the first time a similar situation has arisen in recent years, but it’s yet another wake-up call for studios and their blockbusters. That a production like Terrifier 3, produced for 1% of Joker ‘ s budget, manages to generate that much interest should provoke reflection on the way films are produced, on costs and on a studio’s ability to take risks with R-rated productions.

Warner Bros. is undoubtedly in a strange phase of its existence, with choices having major repercussions on its reputation and financial stability. Giving only a limited release to the latest Clint Eastwood Juror #2 while its golden goose sinks in the box-office rankings day by day.