‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Struggles at the Box Office, Joining ‘Morbius’ After Disastrous Opening Day

We anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine but ended up with Morbius. Joker: Folie à Deux debuted this Friday to dismal reviews from both critics and audiences. Currently, it boasts a 33% approval rating from critics and 31% from viewers, categorizing it as completely rotten.

The film also earned a “D” CinemaScore, the lowest recorded for a superhero movie to date. However, labeling Joker: Folie à Deux as a superhero film or even a comic adaptation feels like quite a stretch.

Initial box office predictions for the film were grim, with the domestic opening estimate revised down to $55 million to $60 million across 4,000 U.S. theaters, including IMAX and PLF screens.

This marked a significant decrease from the original forecast of over $70 million based on three weeks of tracking, as reported by Deadline. After receiving a “D” CinemaScore, expectations were once again lowered, but the film ultimately performed even worse than anticipated.

The divisive sequel managed to earn a modest $20 million on Friday, which includes $7 million from preview screenings, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This figure slightly surpasses Morbius, which grossed $17.3 million on its opening day, including $5.7 million from previews.

In comparison to other notable box office failures in recent years, Joker: Folie à Deux has fared worse than most. For instance, The Marvels, currently the lowest-grossing film in MCU history, earned $21.3 million on its opening day, including $6.6 million from previews.

Madame Web had a six-day opening of $25.8 million, but is that really a fair comparison for Joker: Folie à Deux? Similarly, The Flash released in 2023, earning $24.1 million on its first day, which included $9.7 million from previews.

The first Joker film grossed $335.5 million in the United States and Canada and $743.5 million internationally, totaling $1.079 billion worldwide. It ranks as the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2019 and the second-highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, being the first R-rated movie to cross the billion-dollar threshold until Deadpool & Wolverine did so this year.

With its low budget and impressive box office performance, the original Joker remains the most profitable comic book film ever. In contrast, Joker: Folie à Deux had a production budget reported at $200 million—three times higher than the first film—and is projected to earn three times less during its opening weekend.

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