Things aren't looking good for Joker: Folie A Deux (box office update)

If you had asked multiple people to pick their most anticipated movie of the year earlier this year, there is a pretty high chance that at least one of them would have picked Joker: Folie à Deux (or Joker 2 as it is affectionately known). The sequel to Todd Phillips' 2019 Academy Award-nominee, both he and Joaquin Phoenix returned for the project that once seemed unlikely, and this time they brought the Lady Gaga with them to play Harley freakin' Quinn. What could go wrong?

Anticipation increased just a few months ago when the first trailer was released and, like the first movie, it very much implied that we were in for an adventure that some might describe as cinema. And even though some of the early reactions to the movie were mixed, it leaned positive, with praise directed towards the performances and the visuals.

Now, however, the movie is making its way across the world and the reactions are, well, somewhat different... and it seems like that could have an affect on, well, everything.

Joker 2's negative response might impact its box office takings

Joker: Folie à Deux is releasing widely this weekend and it's receiving quite the divisive response from audiences. That's both fans and critics. Of course, much of the criticism is from DC fanboys who aren't thrilled about the musical elements of the sequel (that was always going to be an uphill battle for them) but that's far from the only critique of the movie, with some unhappy with the story, others pointing out how underused Lady Gaga is, and most feeling that it pales in comparison to its predecessor.

Those overwhelmingly negative reviews have impacted its Rotten Tomatoes standing, as it went from a fresh 62% score to an eye-wideningly rotten 36%. Of course, movies are all about the audience, but that's not promising for Joker 2 either, as it also currently holds a 36% audience score. And now, there is concern that the response could have an impact on its box-office takings.

The sequel was tracking to have a large opening weekend, and it likely still will, but expectations have been lowered somewhat, both due to the reactions and Thursday night previews takings, as it brought in $7 million overnight - which is down from the 2019 original's $13 million. Even so, the movie is still likely to dominate the box office over the weekend, but as Variety points out, there are some higher stakes this time around.

In 2019, Joker brought in a lifetime gross of $1.03 billion on a budget of just $65 million. It could have performed half as well as that and still been a resounding success. Folie à Deux on the other hand comes with a budget of $200 million, meaning that the sequel needs to make a strong attempt of replicating its predecessor's success to make some money.

The movie is destined to do big numbers (and it will no doubt be one of the biggest films of the year), but it doesn't look like it will be the larger-than-life success story that Warner Bros. and DC Studios were hoping for. Joker had nothing to lose when it arrived in the box office in 2019 and it gained everything as a result of its overperformance, but this one has everything to lose and absolutely nothing to gain from it if it underperforms.

As Deadline reminds us, Joker 2's Thursday night previews are just $400,000 ahead of Marvel Studios' The Marvels, which ended up becoming one of the biggest box office failures of all time. That hopefully won't happen here with the DC film, but it is a reminder that anything can happen at the box office.