“Joker: Folie à Deux” is falling flat after earning a “D” CinemaScore, the lowest grade ever from the research firm for a comic book movie.
The previous record holder was 2015’s “Fantastic Four,” which received a “C-” CinemaScore . Meanwhile, “Folie à Deux’s” predecessor, the 2019 original “Joker” from director Todd Phillips, earned a “B+” grade through the research firm’s survey of early crowds.
Joaquin Phoenix reprises his role as the titular Batman villain in “Folie à Deux,” and he’s now joined by Lady Gaga as the equally insane Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (aka Harley Quinn). While the first film was a gritty character study that won Phoenix the Oscar for best actor, “Folie à Deux” serves as a twisted musical and love story from the minds of Joker and Harley. The cast also includes Brendan Gleeson, Harry Lawtey, Catherine Keener and more.
“Folie à Deux” hasn’t received as many positive reviews as the first movie. Variety‘s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote in his review, “’Joker: Folie à Deux’” may be ambitious and superficially outrageous, but at heart it’s an overly cautious sequel. Phillips has made a movie in which Arthur really is just poor Arthur; he does nothing wrong and isn’t going to threaten anyone’s moral sensibilities. In fact, he actually blows the only good thing that ever happened to him — winning the love of Lee’s Harley Quinn — because he denies the Joker in himself. He’s now just a singing-and-dancing puppet clown living in his imagination. Is that entertainment? Audiences, I suspect, will still turn out in droves to see ‘Folie à Deux.’ But when it comes to bold mainstream filmmaking, it’s the scolds who are having the last laugh.”
“Joker: Folie à Deux,” which opened in theaters Friday, earned $20 million on its opening day. Heading into the weekend, “Joker 2” was expected to make $50 million to $65 million in its box office debut, but now, the Warner Bros. film will likely open below those projections.