The original jokerreleased in 2019, was one of the biggest surprise hits in comic book film history; a bizarre, darkly dramatic, completely non-canon spin-off that somehow made over a billion dollars worldwide. Now it seems the franchise is only destined for surprises as the highly anticipated sequel, Joker: Folie à Deuxhas received terrible reviews and an even worse weekend at the box office.
The new film, which returns Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck and adds Lady Gaga to the cast as Harley Quinn, opened to just $40 million in the United States this weekend and has grossed just shy of $100 million worldwide to date. By comparison, the original film grossed almost $100 million domestically in its first few days, while its international weekend grossed an astonishing $247 million.
This is a staggering drop between an original and a sequel with few comparisons in the comic book film canon. But it is not that surprising when you look at how the film has been received more widely. Although the first film received a somewhat mixed reception critically, it generally leaned towards positive, with a critical total of 68% on Rotten Tomatoes and an impressive fan score of 89%. Meanwhile, the second one has been lampooned from all sides, with 33% from critics and 31% from audiences, giving it the extremely rare ignominy of complete alignment between critics and fans. Perhaps even more explanatory of the film’s terrible box office performance is the fact that the film receives a “D” Cinema Score over the weekend – which viewers poll after leaving screenings in certain theaters – the lowest of any comic book film then ever.