‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ Warms Up With $7 Million at Thursday Box Office

Warner Bros.’ “Joker: Folie à Deux” is kicking off the October box office with $7 million from Thursday previews at 3,200 locations, well belowbelow the $13.3 million earned by the first “Joker.”

“Joker” set an October opening weekend record five years ago with a $96 million start, going on to become the first R-rated film to gross $1 billion worldwide. “Folie à Deux” is projected to open more like a conventional October wide release in the $50 million range, and is aiming for a far more modest theatrical performance against its reported $190 million budget.

The question is whether it even will be able to reach that goal given the weaker critical and audience reception for the film. On Rotten Tomatoes, the critics’ score has dropped to 39%, and early audience scores are coming in at 37%. PostTrak scores are even worse, as Thursday audiences gave the film an abysmal 0.5/5.

If audience polls continue to remain low — CinemaScore grades will be released late Friday night — “Joker: Folie à Deux” could see a significant drop in its second weekend similar to “The Flash,” which last year opened to $55 million and then collapsed by 72% in its second weekend.

More to come…

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