With the movie proving far more divisive than its original installment,Joker: Folie à Deuxhas set an unfortunate record on CinemaScore. Anticipation had been high for Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips' sequel to their $1 billion 2019 hit, particularly as the movie would be introducing Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn into the world separate from both the DC Extended and James Gunn’s upcoming DC Universes. Upon its Venice International Film Festival premiere, though,Joker: Folie à Deuxhas seen generally negative reviewsfrom critics and audiences alike, with its Rotten Tomatoes audience score landing well below even the worst-reviewed DCEU movie.
Now, as the movie finally hits theaters and more audiences are seeing it,CinemaScorehas unveiledJoker: Folie à Deux’s rating. The platform, solely dedicated to polling moviegoers' reactions, has tabulated a D score from viewers,officially making it the lowest-rated film in the superhero genre on CinemaScore. Check out the announcement post of the score below:
How Joker: Folie à Deux’s CinemaScore Compares To The Rest Of The Superhero Genre
More Infamous Flops Have Somehow Fared Better
Though the firstJokermay have seen a better response from audiences than critics on Rotten Tomatoes, it still wasn’t necessarily a certified hit on CinemaScore,holding a B+ rating on the platform. Going intoFolie à Deux, the promise of a more surreal approach to exploring Arthur and Harley’s romance and seeming embrace of the Joker persona with musical numbers was enticing, and seemingly showed a willingness to break away from the storytelling critics found too similar to bothTaxi DriverandThe King of Comedyin the original.
Joker: Folie A Deux - 23 DC Easter Eggs & References Explained
Joker: Folie A Deux features some very interesting Easter eggs and references to the original 2019 movie, DC Comics, and beyond.
Even still, the sequel’s record-low CinemaScore shows this approach just didn’t work out in its favor. It also proves surprising, consideringJoker: Folie à Deux’s Rotten Tomatoes scoresaren’t even the lowest for the superhero genre, with the likes ofMorbius,Batman and Robinand 2015’sFantastic Fourall faring much worse, yetalso outperforming Phoenix’s sequel on CinemaScore. Check out howJoker: Folie à Deux’s CinemaScore compares to some of the other lowest-rated superhero genre titles on the platform in the chart below:
8%
18%
25%
45%
12%
16%
14%
20%
19%
31%
15%
71%
11%
57%
17%
47%
23%
10%
9%
33%
In looking at both critics and audiences' reactions toJoker: Folie à Deux, it seems clear that the biggest things creating such mixed responses are the minimal screentime with Gaga’s Quinn and Phoenix’s Joker, and its thematic approach to the response to the first movie.Many reviews have specifically noted the movie’s seeming intent was to critique the toxic side of fandom, particularly in how the first movie nearly inspired some very real Jokers. This, in turn, led to some believing that those who did enjoy the originalJokerwould be upset by Phillips' approach to the sequel, includingScreen Rant’s Alex Harrison inhisFolie à Deuxreview:
Philips might as well be puttingJokeron trial inFolie à Deux,hammering home that a lot of people got his first movie wrong. Arthur isn’t really aTaxi Driverguy anymore; this time, he’d rather sing his troubles away.
Our Take On Joker: Folie à Deux’s Record-Low CinemaScore
The Movie Won’t Come Anywhere Near The Original’s Record Box Office Run
As someone who was already torn about how the original movie depicted the titular character’s origins, I can’t quite decide whether the division towardsJoker: Folie à Deuxhas sparked my interest further in the sequel or put me off from watching it. Regardless of my own interest, though, the record-low CinemaScore for the film does make it clear that it won’t hold a torch to the original movie’s success, particularly its record-setting box office run. For five years, the originalJokerwas not only the highest-grossing R-rated film of all-time, but also the first to surpass the $1 billion mark.
Will Joker 3 Happen? Everything We Know
Joker: Folie A Deux’s twisted ending sets up a surprising future for the franchise, but will a third movie actually happen? We break down the chances.
This year, though, saw the former record shattered when the highly anticipatedDeadpool & Wolverinequickly soared to $1.327 billion, also currently holding the No. 2 spot for the highest-grossing films of the year. As such, between the movie’s divisive reception and box office opening barely bringing in half of what the original did in the same period, I thinkJoker: Folie à Deuxwill not only come nowherenear its predecessor’s $1 billion haul, but might not break even against its $200 million production budget.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Cast
Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to Todd Phillips' critically acclaimed comic book thriller Joker. Reprising his Academy Award-winning performance as the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, Joaquin Phoenix revisits the iconic DC character alongside Lady Gaga, who makes her debut as Joker’s lover Harley Quinn in this standalone continuity of the DC Universe.
