‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Craters at the Domestic Box Office

Co-writer/director Todd Phillips’ sequel to his 2019 Oscar winner has done business more in line with expectations overseas, but it’s far from a success for the movie.

(L to R) Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/Joker and Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel in Warner Bros. Pictures’ 'Joker: Folie à Deux,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Preview:

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ has flopped at the domestic box office.
The $190 million–budgeted sequel earned less than $40 million, according to reports.
It fared better overseas, with $81.1 million.

The sequel to 2019’s ‘Joker’ is beginning to look less ‘Folie à Deux’ and more “Folly à Deux.”

Warner Bros. had previously had high hopes for the new movie, given that it reunited co-writer/director Todd Phillips with star Joaquin Phoenix, who had seen their original effort make more than $1 billion at the box office and score three Oscars from 11 nominations, including for Phoenix’s lead performance.

But while the marketing largely obscured the fact that the duo were taking their latest in a radically new direction –– i.e. making it a musical and diving even deeper into the emotional fragility and mental health of main character Arthur Fleck –– the audiences, at least domestically, simply didn’t show up, with estimates staking it around $39 million for its opening weekend.

That’s a far cry from the $96 million launch for the first movie.

Joker: Folie à Deux

"The world is a stage."

R2 hr 18 minOct 4th, 2024

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Watch Joker: Folie à Deux Online

What’s the story of ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’?

(L to R) Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck and Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel in Warner Bros. Pictures’ 'Joker: Folie à Deux', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise/™ & © DC Comics. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved. TM & © DC.

The ‘Joker’ sequel finds Arthur (Phoenix) institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker.

While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love (with Lee Quinzel, played by Lady Gaga), but also finds the music that's always been inside him.

How did the box office shape up for ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ domestically?

(L to R) Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix in 'Joker: Folie à Deux.' Photo: Todd Phillips' Instagram.

While we should at this point, make the note that the $39 million figure is still the estimate, even if it rises some, it’s still a huge disappointment.
The signs and portents were there –– very mixed reviews and then a dreadful audience reaction, with big drops between Friday and Saturday as poisonous word of mouth began to spread, and a horrendous D+ audience reaction score (to put that in context, Francis Ford Coppola’s widely maligned ‘Megalopolis’ managed a D.)

That financial result is worse than ‘The Marvels,’ which began its own faltering box office run with $46 million. But as Deadline points out, at least the ‘Joker’ sequel made more than the ‘Cats’ musical movie it its entire initial run.

What was the ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ box office worldwide?

(L to R) Brendan Gleeson as Jackie Sullivan and Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in Warner Bros. Pictures’ 'Joker: Folie à Deux,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Scott Garfield/™ & © DC Comics. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved. TM & © DC.

Outside of the States, the figures were more in line with studio tracking; ‘Folie à Deux’ earned $81.1 million in 76 markets for a current global estimated total of $121.1 million. It still has China and Japan left to open, but no one is predicting big things from either country.

Perhaps the biggest issue is that Phillips, off the back of the first film’s success, was able to score a $190 million budget to make the film, with the studio gambling that having a name like Gaga attached would help broaden its appeal. Trouble was, ‘Joker’s core audience didn’t connect with the idea of a movie that is part courtroom drama, part musical.

By way of comparison, Brady Corbet managed to make a 3.5 hour movie (‘The Brutalist’, which has scored praise at festivals) for $6 million.

Phillips has said that he has no real interest in returning to the ‘Joker’ world; at this point, we doubt Warner Bros. has either.

(L to R) Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix, director Todd Phillips and Leigh Gill on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ 'Joker: Folie à Deux', a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise/™ & © DC Comics. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved. TM & © DC.