Current:Home > Contact-us'Joker: Folie à Deux' underwhelms at the box office, receives weak audience scores-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
'Joker: Folie à Deux' underwhelms at the box office, receives weak audience scores
View Date:2024-12-23 16:47:01
Warner Bros. doesn't have much to smile about this weekend as the highly anticipated "Joker" sequel underwhelms at the box office.
Amid weak reviews from both critics and audiences, "Joker: Folie à Deux" didn't come close to matching the success of its predecessor in its opening weekend. The film took in $40 million at the domestic box office, according to studio estimates on Sunday, down from the $96.2 million the original movie grossed in its 2019 debut.
"Folie à Deux" has already proven divisive among audiences, which may make it difficult for the film to recover from its soft opening in the coming weeks.
In polling conducted by CinemaScore, which surveys moviegoers at theaters, "Folie à Deux" received a grade of D, an unusually low score for a major comic book movie. For comparison, the original "Joker" received a B+ grade, and this year's widely panned Marvel movie "Madame Web" still earned a C+.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the audience approval rating for "Folie à Deux" currently stands at 31%, a significant drop from 89% for the first "Joker."
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Joker: Folie à Deux' ending:Who dies? Who walks? Who gets the last laugh?
At a time when DC had spent years focused on building a shared world of movies to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the original "Joker" in 2019 stood out for its decision to take place in an entirely separate continuity and provide a grim new origin story for the title character. It was a huge hit, raking in over $1 billion at the worldwide box office and becoming the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time until that record was surpassed this year by "Deadpool & Wolverine."
Directed again by Todd Phillips, the follow-up puts the Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) on trial for his murders committed in the previous film and sees him fall in love with Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga). But in a surprising and polarizing choice, Phillips turned the sequel into a musical, complete with frequent covers of largely pre-existing songs.
'Joker 2' review:Joaquin Phoenix returns in a sweeter, not better, movie musical
The first "Joker" divided critics, but reviews for "Folie à Deux" have skewed much more negative. After the movie premiered at the Venice Film Festival, many critics panned the film, arguing Gaga was underused and that Phillips spent too much time retreading territory from the original. Audiences have also expressed dissatisfaction with the film's musical sequences and controversial ending.
"Folie à Deux" now appears unlikely to make a splash at the Academy Awards like its predecessor did. The first "Joker" received 11 Oscar nominations, the most of any movie that year, and Phoenix won the Oscar for best actor. The film also won best original score.
"Folie à Deux" also marks another box office disappointment for DC, which has endured several financial failures in recent years including 2023's "The Flash."
The weak box office numbers led to the hiring in 2022 of producers James Gunn and Peter Safran, who have announced plans to resurrect the DC Comics brand on the big screen starting with a reboot of "Superman," set for release in 2025. Phillips has said he is unlikely to return to DC to direct any future films.
veryGood! (1531)
Related
- College football Week 12 expert picks for every Top 25 game include SEC showdowns
- 'Golden Bachelor' runner-up says what made her 'uncomfortable' during Gerry Turner's wedding
- Rob Lowe gets an 'embarrassing amount' of sleep: Here are his tips to stay youthful
- Thierry Henry says he had depression during career and cried “almost every day” early in pandemic
- Mississippi rising, Georgia falling in college football NCAA Re-Rank 1-134 after Week 11
- More delays for NASA’s astronaut moonshots, with crew landing off until 2026
- I’m a Shopping Editor, Here Is My New Year’s Skincare Resolutions List for 2024
- An iPhone fell from an Alaska Airlines flight and still works. Scientists explain how.
- Military veteran gets time served for making ricin out of ‘curiosity’
- Young man killed by shark while diving for scallops off Pacific coast of Mexico
Ranking
- Giuliani’s lawyers after $148M defamation judgment seek to withdraw from his case
- Colts owner Jim Irsay being treated for 'severe respiratory illness'
- Earth shattered global heat record in ’23 and it’s flirting with warming limit, European agency says
- Defense Secretary Austin was treated for prostate cancer and a urinary tract infection, doctors say
- Saving for retirement? How to account for Social Security benefits
- Michigan wins College Football Playoff National Championship, downing Huskies 34-13
- Driver in custody after hitting White House gate with car, Secret Service says
- After a 'historic' year, here are the states with the strongest and weakest gun laws in 2024
Recommendation
-
Incredible animal moments: Watch farmer miraculously revive ailing chick, doctor saves shelter dogs
-
Mean Girls’ Daniel Franzese Reveals Where He Thinks Damien Is Today
-
Bottled water contains up to 100 times more plastic than previously estimated, new study says
-
Christopher Briney Is All of Us Waiting for The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Secrets
-
Paraguay vs. Argentina live updates: Watch Messi play World Cup qualifying match tonight
-
Sinéad O’Connor’s Cause of Death Revealed
-
NFL wild-card weekend injuries: Steelers star T.J. Watt out vs. Bills with knee injury
-
'Golden Bachelor' runner-up says what made her 'uncomfortable' during Gerry Turner's wedding