After collapsing in its opening weekend, and then being all but eviscerated in its sophomore frame, Joker: Folie à Deux witnessed a further drop in revenue as it entered only its third week in theaters on the verge of a premature debut on digital streaming platforms. The big-budget sequel to 2019’s blockbuster Joker grossed just over $2 million domestically this weekend, and it didn’t fare much better in overseas markets either, despite opening in China. The film generated under $15 million from international territories this weekend, as it neared perhaps its final global milestone.

With just $56 million domestically and another $135 million from international markets, Joker: Folie à Deux’s cumulative global haul now stands at $192 million. While it’ll likely pass the $200 million milestone by the end of its run, it isn’t going to make much more than that. This is a shockingly poor result for the direct sequel to a movie that not only made $1 billion worldwide but was also popular during the awards season. Joker won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and earned star Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar for his central performance as a mentally ill outcast in a 1980s Gotham City inspired by the films of Martin Scorsese.

The first Joker had a notoriously difficult production, with director Todd Phillips having been restricted to a reported budget of around $60 million by Warner Bros. He was granted a reported $200 million budget for Joker: Folie à Deux, which also premiered at Venice, but to significantly more muted response. But if the reviews were lukewarm, the audience was positively simmering with anger upon its commercial release. Joker: Folie à Deux earned an unprecedented D CinemaScore from opening day crowds, and appears to have settled at a “rotten” 32% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Earned the Wrath of Fans

The film’s drop-off from the original can be compared to Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, which grossed over $1 billion in 2010, and its sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass, which concluded its run with less than $300 million. Last year, the DC superhero movie Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom grossed around $430 million worldwide, just a few years after the original Aquaman had cracked the $1 billion mark globally.

Joker: Folie à Deux’s dismal performance is being attributed to the introduction of musical elements and a narrative that largely revolves around the events of the first film. Lady Gaga appears as the fan-favorite Harley Quinn in the film, but Joker: Folie à Deux still hasn’t overtaken the already underwhelming box office haul of Birds of Prey, the last live-action film to feature the character this prominently. She was played by Margot Robbie in that movie; Robbie returned as Harley in The Suicide Squad, which concluded its run with $55 million domestically, but at the peak of the pandemic and with a day-and-date streaming release hampering its performance.

You can watch Joker: Folie à Deux in theaters, or you can wait for it to hit digital platforms in a few days. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Joker: Folie à Deux explores Arthur Fleck’s ongoing struggle with his dual identity as he unexpectedly discovers love and unleashes his hidden musical talent. Set against a backdrop of societal unrest, Arthur’s journey intertwines personal transformation with chaotic encounters, leading to profound shifts in his life and the world around him.Release Date October 4, 2024 Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Lady Gaga , Brendan Gleeson , Catherine Keener , Zazie Beetz , Steve Coogan , Harry Lawtey , Leigh Gill , Jacob Lofland , Sharon Washington , Troy Fromin , Bill Smitrovich , John Lacy , Ken Leung Runtime 138 Minutes Main Genre Drama Writers Todd Phillips , Scott Silver , Bob Kane , Paul Dini , Bill Finger , bruce timm , Jerry Robinson Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures prequel(s) Joker Franchise(s) Joker Expand

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