愛污传媒

Skip to main content

'Joker 2' stumbles at box office amid poor reviews from audiences and critics

Joaquin Phoenix arrives at the premiere of "Joker: Folie a Deux" on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) Joaquin Phoenix arrives at the premiere of "Joker: Folie a Deux" on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Share

鈥淛oker: Folie 脿 Deux鈥 is the No. 1 movie at the box office, but it might not be destined for a happy ending.

In a turn of events that only Arthur Fleck would find funny, the follow-up to Todd Phillips鈥 2019 origin story about the Batman villain opened in theaters nationwide this weekend to a muted US$40 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, less than half that of its predecessor. The collapse was swift and has many in the industry wondering: How did the highly anticipated sequel to an Oscar-winning, billion-dollar film with the same creative team go wrong?

Just three weeks ago, tracking services pegged the movie for a US$70 million debut, which would still have been down a fair amount from 鈥淛oker鈥檚鈥 record-breaking US$96.2 million launch in Oct. 2019. Reviews were mixed out of the Venice Film Festival, where it premiered in competition like the first movie and even got a 12-minute standing ovation.

But the homecoming glow was short-lived, and the fragile foundation would crumble in the coming weeks with its Rotten Tomatoes score dropping from 63 per cent at Venice to 33 per cent by its first weekend in theaters. Perhaps even more surprising were the audience reviews: Ticket buyers polled on opening night gave the film a deadly D CinemaScore. Exit polls from PostTrak weren鈥檛 any better. It got a meager half star out of five possible.

鈥淛oker: Folie 脿 Deux鈥 cost at least twice as much as the first film to produce, though reported figures vary at exactly how pricey it was to make. Phillips told Variety that it was less than the reported US$200 million; Others have it pegged at US$190 million. Warner Bros. released the film in 4,102 locations in North America. About 12.5 per cent of its domestic total came from 415 IMAX screens.

Internationally, it's earned US$81.1 million from 25,788 screens, bringing its total global earnings estimate to US$121.1 million. In the next two weeks, 鈥淛oker 2鈥 will also open in Japan and China.

Second place went to Universal and DreamWorks Animation's鈥淭he Wild Robot,鈥 which added US$18.7 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to nearly US$64 million. Globally, it's made over US$100 million. Warner Bros.' 鈥淏eetlejuice Beetlejuice" took third place in weekend five, Paramount's 鈥淭ransformers One鈥 landed in fourth and Universal and Blumhouse's 鈥淪peak No Evil鈥 rounded out the top five.

The other big new release of the weekend, Lionsgate's 鈥淲hite Bird,鈥 flopped with just US$1.5 million from just over 1,000 locations, despite an A+ CinemaScore.

Overall, the weekend is up from the same frame last year, but 鈥淛oker's鈥 start is an unwelcome twist for theater owners hoping to narrow the box office deficit.

Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix have said they aspired to make something as 鈥渁udacious鈥 as the first film. The sequel added Lady Gaga into the fold, as a Joker superfan, and delved further into the mind of Arthur Fleck, imprisoned at Arkham and awaiting trial for the murders he committed in the first. It鈥檚 also a musical, with elaborately imagined song and dance numbers to old standards. Gaga even released a companion album called 鈥'Harlequin,鈥 alongside the film.

In his review for The Associated Press, Jake Coyle wrote that 鈥淧hillips has followed his very antihero take on the Joker with a very anti-sequel. It combines prison drama, courthouse thriller and musical, and yet turns out remarkably inert given how combustible the original was.鈥

The sequel has already been the subject of many think pieces, some who posit that the sequel was deliberately alienating fans of the first movie. In cruder terms, it鈥檚 been called a 鈥渕iddle finger.鈥 But fans often ignore the advice of critics, especially when it comes to opening their wallets to see revered comic book characters on the big screen.

It has some high-profile defenders too: Francis Ford Coppola, who last week got his own D+ CinemaScore for his pricey, ambitious and divisive film 鈥淢egalopolis,鈥 entered the Joker chat with an Instagram post.

鈥淍ToddPhillips films always amaze me and I enjoy them thoroughly,鈥 Coppola wrote. 鈥淓ver since the wonderful 鈥楾he Hangover鈥 he鈥檚 always one step ahead of the audience never doing what they expect.鈥

Deadline editor Anthony D鈥橝lessandro thinks the problem started with the idea to make it a musical. 鈥淣o fan of the original movie wanted to see a musical sequel,鈥 he wrote on Saturday.

The first film was also divisive and the subject of much discourse, then about whether it might send the wrong message to the wrong type of person. And yet people still flocked to see what the fuss was about. 鈥淛oker鈥 went on to pick up 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture and best director, and three wins. It also made over US$1 billion and was the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, until this summer when Marvel's 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine" took the crown.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.

At least seven large-scale butter thefts have been reported in Guelph, Ont. over a 10-month period, including two hauls in just the last month.

Local Spotlight

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.

Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.

The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that 鈥 and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.

A Moncton, N.B., home has been donated to the Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation and will be transformed into a resource hub for people living with cancer.

A Nova Scotia man crossing Canada on foot is passing through southwestern Ontario. Trevor Redmond is perhaps better known as the 鈥楩ellow in Yellow.鈥