Well, it looks like Joker: Folie à Deux isn’t exactly laughing its way to the bank. After all the hype, the much-anticipated sequel is shaping up to be a box-office disaster. We’re talking about losses projected anywhere from $150 million to $200 million, which is pretty jaw-dropping considering the original Joker was a runaway success that raked in over $1 billion and earned Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar.
So, what went wrong? For starters, Folie à Deux made a meager $51.5 million domestically and only $165 million globally after two weeks—far short of the numbers Warner Bros. was hoping for. Compare that to the original film, which pulled in $96.2 million domestically in just three days. Ouch. That’s a steep drop-off, to say the least.
‘JOKER 2’ has had the worst second weekend decline for any comic book movie.
The film earned $7M this weekend, a 81% drop.
Read our review: https://t.co/FmG6BLEPyT pic.twitter.com/YlEcS60doG
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 13, 2024
It doesn’t help that the sequel had a bloated budget of $200 million and another $100 million tacked on for marketing and distribution. All in, the movie needs to hit at least $450 million just to break even, and right now, it’s nowhere near that. Anonymous “insiders” have already sounded the alarm, predicting the film will lose hundreds of millions. Warner Bros., of course, is trying to calm the waters, calling these numbers “grossly wrong” and banking on the film’s theatrical run in China and eventual streaming release to cushion the blow.
But let’s get real—Folie à Deux had some fundamental issues that even a global box office boost or streaming success can’t fix. The original Joker was a gritty, dark, and disturbing take on an antihero, resonating with audiences who were looking for something different from the usual comic-book fare. But the sequel? It decided to swerve in a completely different direction by becoming… a musical love story. Yep, you read that right. A musical. And judging by the 33% rating from critics and a dismal 32% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, fans weren’t exactly singing its praises.
“This is a ‘Speed 2’ level of disaster — with Warner Bros. massively overspending on [“Joker: Folie à Deux”], only to see its audience all but abandon the film domestically,” says box- office analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations. https://t.co/EbUkzeKq9t
— Variety (@Variety) October 8, 2024
Critics haven’t been kind either. The Wall Street Journal compared the drop in quality to the infamous nose-dive between The Hangover and The Hangover Part II. And The Atlantic’s review didn’t hold back, either, slamming the musical performances as “underpowered” and wondering what kind of chaos was happening behind the scenes to produce something so lackluster.
The biggest issue? Fans simply didn’t sign up for this. Many went in expecting another intense, psychological ride like the first film, only to be greeted by a musical. As one moviegoer put it, “I did not want to go see a musical. I went to go see a joker movie.” And honestly, that seems to sum it up perfectly.
