Joker: Folie À Deux — starring Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix — has garnered the lowest CinemaScore in comic book movie history as the film bombed at the box office on opening night.
The psychological musical thriller — which has been criticized as ‘bleak’ and ‘disappointing’ — officially released in theaters on Friday, October 4, but it only raked in $20 million at the domestic box office, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Phoenix reprised his role as the Joker in the sequel, which had earned him an Oscar for his portrayal in the 2019 film, while Gaga took on the role of Harleen Lee Quinzel (Harley Quinn).
However, Joker: Folie À Deux has been given a D rating on CinemaScore — the lowest score for a comic book movie.
Madame Web — which notably also flopped in theaters earlier this year and also received terrible reviews — holds a higher score with a C+.
Joker: Folie À Deux – starring Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix – has garnered the lowest CinemaScore in comic book movie history as the film bombs at the box office on opening night
It received a D rating on CinemaScore – the lowest score for a comic book movie
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently holds an audience score of 31% and a critic score of 32%.
The sequel is projected to rake in less that $50 million at the domestic box office during the entirety of opening weekend, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Weeks ago, the movie had been projected to bring in around $70 million – but the number has since drastically dropped.
Joker (2019) notably opened with $96.2 million when the film first released in theaters – and eventually landed a little over $1 billion in the global box office.
The first movie – which was also directed by Todd Phillips – had a budget of between $55 and $70 million. However, the budget increased for Folie À Deux to around $200 million.
The 2019 movie garnered praise and positive reviews from both critics and audiences – and won the Golden Lion during the 76th Venice International Film Festival.
Joaquin received an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of the Joker (Arthur Fleck) – and the film garnered an additional Academy Award for Best Original Score.
The sequel also screened during the Venice International Film Festival last month in September, where it earned a 12-minute standing ovation, per Deadline.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently holds an audience score of 31% and a critic score of 32%
However, audiences have since taken to X after the movie released in theaters on Friday – and shared their opinions on the sequel, which features musical sequences.
One fan penned, ‘Joaquin Phoenix don’t deserve this. what happened to the script?’ while another added, ‘is it that bad,’ followed by a crying face emoji.
‘Ironically I feel that a musical, if done well, could have been a good choice. It’d show how much of an unreliable narrator Fleck is,’ one typed.
‘But with some original songs, that keep everything vague, not just covers. Also when I heard of the ending I snorted fr.’
A social media user wrote, ‘Stop making sequels as musicals if the original wasn’t a musical.’
‘Maybe he [Phillips] only had an hour long movie, and decided to randomly add musical scenes to fill the runtime,’ one penned.
‘Joker downfall really needs to be studied,’ another shared, along with a monkey staring out a window.
One fan said, ‘the movie sucks. i had to walk out of the cinema,’ while another penned, ‘After years of disagreement….*Joker 2 releases* Critics [shaking hands] Audience.’
The sequel is projected to only rake in less that $50 million in the domestic box office during the entirety of opening weekend, per The Hollywood Reporter
However, audiences have since taken to X after the movie released in theaters on Friday – and shared their opinions over the sequel, which was also a musical
‘Ironically I feel that a musical, if done well, could have been a good choice. It’d show how much of an unreliable narrator Fleck is,’ one typed
‘Joker downfall really needs to be studied,’ another shared, along with a monkey staring out a window
‘That’s way below what we expected,’ one wrote in regards to the current Rotten Tomatoes scores. ‘People are saying this is the worst sequel ever.’
A fan explained, ‘yea this film was bad. it was pretentious and dull. has the aesthetic of an arthouse film without the substance.’
‘It also insults the audience’s intelligence. the songs were also underwhelming too. they shouldn’t have let this escape to theaters.’
One shared, ‘The audience that loved the first movie is not the same audience running to see musicals. This was a gigantic mistake from step 1.’
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Phillips discussed whether he would be interested in making a third Joker film or a movie centered around Gaga’s character.
‘It’s not really where this movie is headed for me. I feel like my time in the DC Universe was these two films.’
Ahead of the movie’s release, Lady Gaga also dropped an accompanying album titled Harlequin on September 27.
Joker: Folie À Deux has been branded the ‘most disappointing follow-up to the Oscar-winning movie’ by critics, as they cast doubt on Lady Gaga’s ‘thin’ role in the film following its release on Friday.
‘That’s way below what we expected,’ one wrote in regards to the current Rotten Tomatoes scores. ‘People are saying this is the worst sequel ever’
A fan explained, ‘yea this film was bad. it was pretentious and dull. has the aesthetic of an arthouse film without the substance’
The ‘bleak’ sequel, has also received a tepid reception from fans, with some claiming Lady Gaga’s career could be at risk.
While the same director Todd Phillips was back in the hot seat, critics have said the sequel is just a ‘repeat’ of the first hit but with an added musical twist.
Most critics have said Todd failed to use Gaga correctly in the movie and claimed she was only bought in for the musical aspect of it.
While the majority of critics say Joker: Folie À Deux didn’t live up to expectations, others have dubbed the movie ‘bold’ and ‘brilliant.’
Daily Mail’s Brian Viner commended the move as ‘bold’ and ‘brilliant’ but said it lacked any thrill.
The Independent’s Geoffrey Macnab said: ‘Today Joker is best remembered as one of the most subversive and original films of the last decade, while its hugely anticipated sequel is just as bleak and formally daring as its predecessor’.
Meanwhile, the Irish Times’ Donald Clarke gave the movie just two stars but credited Phillips’ work for making a sequel following the first movie’s $1billion success.
Financial Times critic Danny Leigh said although Gaga worked hard to bump the ratings up in the sequel, Phillips appeared to have no idea what to do with her.
Giving a three star rating, The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw claimed the movie proves ‘claustrophobic’ and ‘repetitive.’
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Phillips discussed whether he would be interested in making a third Joker film or a movie centered around Gaga’s character; Phillips, Gaga and Phoenix seen in September in L.A.
Joker: Folie À Deux has been branded the ‘most disappointing follow-up to the Oscar-winning movie’ by critics, as they cast doubt on Lady Gaga’s ‘thin’ role in the film following its release on Friday; seen in September in London
The Times’ Kevin Maher wrote: ‘The director Todd Phillips said there would be no follow-up to the original, but he changed his mind and the result is a derivative musical’
‘This might be the most disappointing follow-up to an Oscar-winning performance since Anthony Hopkins reworked his silky and terrifying Dr Lecter from for the campy, kitschy.’
Along with Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix, other stars that had appeared in the sequel include Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beatz and Steve Coogan.
Joker: Folie à Deux has faced additional backlash from fans as they have claimed that Gaga is running the risk of losing her acting career.