Joaquin Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck in “Joker: Pas de Deux.”
warner bros.
The audience had the last laugh at the box office this weekend.
“Joker: Pas de Deux” grossed just $40 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend, a far cry from the $96.2 million its predecessor did in its 2019 debut.
Just last month, the film was expected to gross close to $70 million, but as reviews poured in, that estimate plummeted to around $50 million.
“The creative risks taken by Joker: Pas de Deux are commendable, but in a challenging market environment, with harsh reviews from critics and mixed reactions from audiences, the film’s otherwise respectable box office receipts A disappointing $40 million domestic debut.
Five years ago, the first “Joker” directed by director Todd Phillips made a whopping $1.07 billion at the global box office with a budget of only about $65 million. Its sequel cost $200 million to produce, not including marketing costs.
Audiences and critics praised Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga’s performances in Folie a Deux, but they felt the story had too many ideas and not enough plot.
Adam Nayman wrote: “The decision to recast the sequel as a musical courtroom drama sounds confusing, and the results are terrible, but it’s actually pretty funny.” In his review of the film The Ringer.
“Folie a Deux” currently has a 33% rating out of 258 reviews on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, and a 31% audience rating out of more than 2,500 fan reviews.
Revealed: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Rotten Tomatoes.
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