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| Photo: Warner Bros |
Opening Weekend Breakdown: Disastrous Decline
Joker: Folie à Deux began its weekend with promise, earning $20.1 million on Friday, but this optimism quickly faded. By Saturday, earnings had plummeted to just $11.1 million, even after factoring in Thursday’s $7 million from preview screenings. This steep decline has brought the film’s opening weekend total to a mere $39 million, far below the pre-weekend projections of $50-55 million.
To make matters worse, this opening is only 40% of what the original Joker earned in 2019, which set an October box office record with a $96 million debut. Now, the sequel is being compared to Morbius, a film widely criticized for its underwhelming performance, which also opened at $39 million.
Critical Reception: Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore Paint a Grim Picture
The critical response to Joker: Folie à Deux has been overwhelmingly negative. The film’s Rotten Tomatoes score sits at a disappointing 33% from critics and an even lower 31% from audiences. Adding to the bad news, the film has received a D grade from CinemaScore, marking the lowest rating ever for a comic book film. This harsh reception could lead to an even steeper decline in its second weekend.
The Road Ahead: A Bleak Forecast
Given the current trajectory, it’s likely that Joker: Folie à Deux will struggle to reach $10 million in its second weekend. Recent trends indicate that wide-release films with poor audience scores tend to experience significant drop-offs post-pandemic. While theaters overall are performing better than they were a year ago, Joker 2 will not be the big boost cinemas hoped for.
Bright Spots Elsewhere: The Wild Robot and Beetlejuice 2 Shine
In contrast to Joker 2’s bleak outlook, other films in theaters are performing exceptionally well. Universal and DreamWorks’ The Wild Robot continues to hold steady in its second weekend, grossing $18.7 million, a 48% drop from its $35 million debut. The film has received critical acclaim and audience praise, which has propelled its domestic earnings to nearly $64 million and worldwide gross to $100 million.
Similarly, Warner Bros.’ Beetlejuice 2 has enjoyed steady success, grossing $10.3 million in its fifth weekend. The film is closing in on a domestic total of $265 million, surpassing even Dune: Part Two. With major hits like Wonka and Dune 2, Warner Bros. has seen significant highs this year, but Joker 2 is a sharp contrast to these successes.
Other Box Office Performers: Transformers One and Speak No Evil
Paramount and Hasbro’s Transformers One continues to struggle, earning just $5.4 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to $47.2 million and global earnings to $97 million. Meanwhile, Universal and Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil added $2.8 million in its fourth weekend, for a domestic total of $32.5 million and a worldwide cume of $67.4 million.
Outside of the top five, Lionsgate’s White Bird, a sequel to the hit film Wonder, grossed a modest $1.53 million from a limited release in 1,018 theaters. Despite strong critical reception (73% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a stellar A+ CinemaScore, the film is not performing anywhere near as well as its predecessor. In fact, it has been outperformed by Sam and Colby: The Legends of the Paranormal, a limited release from popular YouTubers that grossed $1.77 million from just 300 Cinemark locations.
Indie Films and the Horror Scene: The Substance Holds Steady
Despite the poor performance of Joker 2, indie horror fans have found something to celebrate with Mubi’s The Substance. The film continues to perform respectably, grossing $1.4 million in its third weekend, even as it lost 1,000 screens to Joker 2. With a domestic total approaching $10 million, The Substance has found its niche audience and continues to thrive.
Can Joker: Folie à Deux Recover?
The disastrous opening weekend of Joker: Folie à Deux is a stark reminder that even tentpole films with big budgets and franchise recognition are not immune to failure. With critical reception in the gutter and audience scores similarly low, the film faces a steep uphill battle in the weeks to come. While Warner Bros. has enjoyed success with other releases this year, Joker 2 may go down as one of the studio’s most significant disappointments.
As other films continue to perform well, the question remains: can Joker: Folie à Deux turn things around, or is it destined to be remembered alongside the likes of Morbius as one of the year’s biggest box office flops? Only time will tell.
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