"Joker: Folie à Deux" Faces Harsh Audience Reception, Sets Negative Record

The highly anticipated follow-up to 2019’s “Joker” movie has performed worse than expected at the box office during its opening weekend. “Joker: Folie à Deux,” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, earned the lowest audience rating ever given to a major superhero film by CinemaScore. This marks a significant decline from the strong reactions to the original “Joker” movie.

CinemaScore surveys audience members after the first showing of a new film. It uses a scale of A+ to F to measure how moviegoers feel about the movie. “Joker: Folie à Deux” received a rare “D” rating. In contrast, the 2019 “Joker” film earned a respectable “B+” from opening-night viewers.

Box office projections for the sequel’s opening weekend were revised downward as a result. Analysts initially expected around $70 million but later lowered that to about $50 million. That performance falls well short of the original “Joker” movie’s $100 million debut.

So what led to this lukewarm reception? Some analysts think changes to the sequel’s tone may have disappointed fans of the first film. Whereas “Joker” was a dark psychological thriller, “Folie à Deux” incorporates musical numbers and a courtroom drama storyline. One critic said the new film seemed designed “to deliberately antagonize” viewers who embraced the original. The decreased focus on the Joker character’s chaotic actions may also have alienated some in the audience.

The CinemaScore for “Joker: Folie à Deux” stands out as the lowest in history for a superhero property. Even movies widely seen as failures, such as “Green Lantern” and “Catwoman,” received somewhat better grades from opening-night crowds. How the film holds up with audiences over time as word of mouth spreads remains to be seen. Its disappointing start raises challenges for sequels that significantly alter what drew people to the original.