'Joker 2' Bombs After Getting Dismal Reviews From Critics and Audiences

Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix in "Joker: Folie à Deux."Photo byWarner Bros.

Joker 2 debuted at the top of the box office this weekend, but earned less than half of what Joker opened with in October 2019.

The sequel titled Joker: Folie à Deux (translated from madness of two) brought in an estimated $40 million in the U.S. and Canada between Friday and Sunday, box office tracking company Comscore reported.

While that may seem like a lot, its Oscar-winning predecessor Joker earned $96.2 million in its opening weekend and went on to make $1.07 billion worldwide, according to boxofficemojo.

The previous film cost a reported $55 million to produce, while the sequel carries a staggering price tag of $200 million, plus marketing costs.

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Loosely based on DC Comics characters, both movies were directed by Todd Phillips and released by Warner Bros.

The sequel follows the deranged Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), who is institutionalized as he awaits trial for his crimes as The Joker. While Arthur struggles with his dual identity, he finds true love and the music that's always been inside his head.

The movie-musical also stars Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz, and Steve Coogan.

Critics gave the sequel low marks and a 33 percent score out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes.

André Hereford of Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) called the film "a long-burning musical fuse that goes nowhere."

Peter Travers of ABC News described Joker 2 as a "crushing letdown."

Seattle Times critic Moira Macdonald said the sequel is "a wild experiment that mostly falls flat."

Audiences panned the film as well, handing it a rare "D" CinemaScore.

The Film Updates platform reported that's the lowest CinemaScore ranking for a movie released in 2024.

Despite Joker 2's struggles, several holdovers continued to sell tickets this weekend.

Now in its second weekend, DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot took second place with $18.7 million. That brings its domestic total through Sunday to $63.9 million.

In third place, Warner Bros.’ Tim Burton hit Beetlejuice Beetlejuice earned $10.3 million in its fifth weekend, for a domestic total through Sunday of $265.5 million.

Paramount’s presentation of Transformers One, now in its third weekend, earned another $5.3 million. To date, the CG-animated film has made $47.2 million in the U.S. and Canada.

Universal and Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil rounded out the top 5 in its fourth weekend after bringing in another $2.8 million. So far, the psychological horror drama has earned $32.5 million.

Check out the box office chart below from Comscore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian.