One of the most highly anticipated releases of 2024, Joker: Folie à Deux, has stumbled at the box office. With a hefty production budget of $190-200 million, the sequel to the acclaimed 2019 film opened with $40 million domestically and earned $81.1 million internationally, bringing its worldwide opening weekend total to $121.1 million.
Joker 2’s opening weekend gross is drastically lower than its 2019 predecessor, which earned over $235 million globally in its opening weekend, including $140.5 million from overseas markets. The first film was made on a modest budget of just $65 million.
The terrible reviews from critics and viewers across the globe have certainly contributed to this outcome. Currently, Joker 2 holds a ‘rotten’ score of 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on over 250 certified reviews. On Metacritic, the lackluster sequel has a score of 45 out of 100, based on 57 critic reviews. CinemaScore gave the latest Joaquin Phoenix starrer a ‘D’ rating, the lowest ever for a comic book movie.
Joker 2 is facing heavy criticism for its poor storyline, underwhelming musical numbers, and underutilization of Lady Gaga’s talents.
The first Joker movie grossed nearly $1.079 billion globally, earning $335.5 million domestically and $743.5 million internationally. It became the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time upon release, until it was surpassed this year by Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine, which has grossed over $1.328 billion.
Joker 2 director Todd Phillips has confirmed that he won’t direct any more comic book films after helming the sequel. You can watch Folie à Deux in theaters—at your own risk! Stay tuned for more updates.