Bad Reviews And Shrinking Box Office Predictions

Topline

“Joker: Folie à Deux” opened in theaters Friday and is already a far cry from the critical and commercial juggernaut of the first film in 2019, with the musical sequel—with Joaquin Phoenix reprising his title role, and Lady Gaga co-starring—alienating audiences and critics, and box office projections rapidly shrinking.

Key Facts

How Badly Is The “joker” Sequel Performing Compared To The Original?

Unlike the sequel, the first “Joker” film premiered to a mostly positive reception from audiences and critics in 2019, becoming a surprise box office and awards success. Three weeks prior to its release, Deadline predicted the movie would earn between $65 million and $80 million in its opening weekend, suggesting it could even gross as much as $90 million. The film surpassed expectations and grossed $96 million in its opening weekend, smashing the record for the biggest October opening of all time. It wrapped up its theatrical run with $1.08 billion in total worldwide gross, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time (a record surpassed by “Deadpool & Wolverine” in 2024). “Joker” was wildly profitable: Deadline estimated it generated about $437 million in net profits, thanks to its relatively low budget for a comic book film of $70 million. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August 2019, where it won the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion, becoming the start of a dominant awards run. “Joker” was nominated for 11 Oscars, the most of any film that year. Phoenix swept the awards season for his performance as Arthur Fleck, winning the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and the Academy Award, among many others, for Best Actor. The movie also won an Oscar for its score by Hildur Guðnadóttir, and became a flashpoint of cultural discussion, with some accusing it of glorifying violence.

Is The ‘joker’ Sequel A Musical?

Yes, critics who reviewed the movie seem to agree it is a musical—though the film’s cast and director have refrained from actually calling it a musical. At a press conference following the film’s Venice premiere, Lady Gaga said she “wouldn’t necessarily say that this is actually a musical,” stating “the way the music is used is to give the characters a way to express what they need to say because the scene and dialogue is not enough.” Her comments faced some pushback from people who felt she had actually described a musical. Phillips acknowledged the “Joker” sequel does fit the definition of a musical, but said he hesitates to call it one because he feels “musical” has a positive connotation, and “I don’t know that you leave this movie feeling better than you did when you walked in.” The movie features performances of classic American songs by Phoenix and Lady Gaga, which has divided audiences on social media. Musicals are tricky for film studios to market and sell tickets for, a struggle faced by the “Mean Girls” musical adaptation earlier this year, which downplayed the musical element in trailers and disappointed some audiences who didn’t know the film had musical numbers.

Chief Critics

Most reviews found the sequel to be unfocused and lacking a compelling enough plot to justify a sequel, with some slamming the film’s music. Toronto Star critic Peter Howell said “writer-director Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver obviously had no idea what kind of movie they were trying to make,” calling the musical numbers “incessant and increasingly annoying.” San Francisco Chronicle critic G. Allen Johnson said the sequel is a “traumatizing cinematic experience” and that Phillips “set fire to the whole idea of a comic book movie.” IndieWire critic David Ehrlich said the musical numbers are “underwhelming” and “either too on the nose to communicate anything that Arthur couldn’t express without them” or “too vaguely related to its characters to express anything at all.” Some critics questioned who the film is for, noting it is too different to attract die-hard fans of the first “Joker” film, while also underutilizing Lady Gaga to sufficiently appeal to her fanbase. Rolling Stone critic David Fear said “this sequel is whatever the exact opposite of fan service is,” suggesting the message to fans is: “Go f*ck yourselves.” The Daily Beast critic Nick Schager said the movie is “so determined to avoid satisfying fans that it’s borderline antagonistic.” Deadline also reported PostTrak, a company that surveys film audiences, found audiences rated the film with a terrible ½-star rating, with only 23% saying they’d definitely recommend it to a friend.

What To Watch For

Whether the “Joker” sequel can manage a decent opening weekend at the box office—and whether it can turn a profit in the long run—despite the bad reviews.

Further Reading

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Makes $7M In Thursday Night Previews, Receives 1/2 Star From PostTrak Audiences – Box Office (Deadline)

Can Lady Gaga & Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Go Nuts At The Box Office? $140M Global Start Eyed – Preview (Deadline)

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’: Todd Phillips Explains Why He Resists Calling It a Musical, Despite It Being ‘The Very Definition of a Musical’ (The Wrap)