It had already become apparent, after the launch it now seems certain: “Joker: Folie À Deux” will not be a megahit like the first “Joker” from 2019. In Germany, fewer people saw the DC sequel than “The School of Magic Animals 3”.
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“Joker” was an incredible surprise hit in 2019: The huge hype surrounding the DC film with Joaquin Phoenix ensured a sensational start and worldwide box office revenue of $1.08 billion. Given these numbers, a sequel was quickly a foregone conclusion. But it was clear that it would be difficult to match the success of its predecessor when it became clear that “Joker 2” would be a musical. And this has now been confirmed after the theatrical release of “Joker: Folie À Deux” (the official title).
“Joker 2” grossed $121.1 million worldwide in its opening weekend, including $40 million in the United States. A good 422,000 tickets were sold in Germany. That doesn’t sound bad at first, but it pales in comparison to the figures for the first “Joker,” which opened in 2019 with more than $235 million. And considering the film’s budget, it’s a disappointment – which is likely to turn into a real flop.
Because “Joker: Folie À Deux” cost between $190 and $200 million and therefore a multiple of the first part, which cost between 55 and 70 million dollars. That’s why, according to the usual Hollywood rule of thumb, the sequel would have to gross at least $400 millionto break even at the box office – but that will be difficult.
After all, not only are the reviews for the film worse this time, the review collection site Rotten Tomatoes, for example, only rates a weak 33 percent of the 266 reviews as positive, in contrast to a very solid 68 percent for “Joker”. Above all, “Joker 2” is being received much worse by the audience that made the first part so successful, to put it mildly.
Harsh reactions from the audience
This is what the US industry magazine writes Deadline for example, that “Folie À Deux” was massively punished in the USA, as shown by the poor CinemaScore with a grade of D (corresponding to a German 4). This actually seems to be the worst (!) CinemaScore that a superhero film has ever received – including films panned by fans and the trade press such as “Catwoman” or “Fantastic Four” from 2015.
The CinemaScore is an audience survey after screenings in US cinemas and, unlike sites like FILMSTARTS or IMDb, not only reflects the opinion of die-hard film fans, but also that of regular audiences. But The user rating here at FILMSTARTS.de is also much lower at 2.6 out of 5 stars than the first film.
Given the weak reviews, the lack of enthusiasm among audiences and the apparent lack of hype this time around, things are likely to be difficult for “Joker 2”.yet to top the $400 million mark at the global box office.
“School of Magical Animals 3” beats “Joker 2”
In Germany, too, the 422,000 tickets sold for “Joker 2” are not even half as many as for “Joker”, which attracted more than 940,000 people to the cinemas when it opened. So the DC sequel also has to admit defeat to another sequel, namely “The School of Magical Animals 3”.
After more than 582,000 tickets for the fantasy sequel were sold on the opening weekend, more than 562,000 were sold again last weekend. This means that part 3 of “Magical Animals” has now been seen by more than a million children and parents. Another new entry came in third place: “The Wild Robot” (207,000 visitors).
By the way, have you been wondering why “Joker 2” is actually called “Folie À Deux”? The answer can be found in the following article:
That’s why “Joker 2” is called “Joker: Folie À Deux”: the title of the sequel explains
