Joker (2019), directed by Todd Phillips and featuring Joaquin Phoenix, debuted in the U.S. theaters on October 4, 2019, and made $96.2 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend. The movie finished its theatrical run with $335.5 million in the U.S. and Canada and around $743.5 million internationally, reaching a global total of approximately $1.079 billion. It also earned a 68% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes after 602 reviews. In comparison, its 2024 sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, received a lukewarm response in its opening weekend and is seemingly slated to be another box-office disappointment for DC.
Joker: Folie à Deux underperforms at opening box office
Joker: Folie à Deux is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year, as the first Joker movie was a massive critical and commercial success and had an immense cultural impact. However, the sequel, which currently has a 33% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, had a $40 million opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada, and earned $81.1 million domestically, leading to a global total of $121.1 million. Although the movie claimed the top spot at the box office, its performance is in no way near the original.
Arguably the biggest movies released in the U.S. on the October 4-6 weekend besides Joker: Folie à Deux are White Bird, featuring Gillian Anderson and Helen Mirren, and Saoirse Ronan’s The Outrun. A month before the release of Joker: Folie à Deux, the initial predictions claimed that the movie would make around $115-$145 million in the opening weekend.
However, the movie underperformed significantly. It opened in 4,102 theaters in North America and made around $20 million on Friday (October 4), $11.4 million on Saturday (October 5), and $8 million on Sunday (October 6).
Joker 2’s box office suggests another flop for DC
Before debuting in theaters, Joker: Folie à Deux premiered at this year’s Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2024. If its current box-office trend continues, it can become another flop for DC.
The movie has a reported budget of $190–200 million, and according to Variety, it needs to make at least $450 million to break even.
Although it’s unclear how much Warner Bros. spent on the movie’s marketing, the general rule of thumb is most movies’ marketing budget matches that of the production. Add to this the fact that theater chains take roughly 40-60% of every dollar earned, it probably needs to make at least $550-600 million to become profitable.
Joker: Folie à Deux may gain traction in the coming weeks despite a slow start, but it seems unlikely. The audience response to the movie has been mixed to negative, so there is barely any positive word of mouth. And Venom: The Last Dance, another tentpole project, premieres on October 25, 2024.
If Joker: Folie à Deux does flop, it will continue the similar box-office performances of previous DC releases such as Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Blue Beetle, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and The Flash. All eyes will then be on James Gunn’s Superman, premiering on July 11, 2025.
