I can’t believe that the final box office numbers forJoker: Folie à Deuxare so much lower than 2019’s originalJokermovie. Todd Phillips' 2024 follow-up to his smash-hit DC Elseworlds movie, set outside the mainDC Universe, marked the return ofJoaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a failed stand-up comic and clown who finds himself imprisoned after embarking on a killing spree as Joker. I thought 2019’sJokerwas revolutionary, delivering a beautiful and gripping take on the iconic DC Comics supervillain, but I found it a shame the sequel wasn’t so well received.
I sawJoker: Folie à Deuxas soon as it was released in October 2024. As a huge Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga fan, I loved the highly-anticipated sequel, and thought its subversive and polarizing narrative and arthouse style was exactly what aJokersequeldemanded. Despite my opinion, however,Folie à Deuxwas met with heavy criticism, with many feeling disappointed that Arthur Fleck didn’t let loose astheJoker(spoiler alert: that’s the point). Unfortunately, this translated into pretty abysmalbox office numbers forJoker: Folie à Deux, but there may still be hope for the 2024 sequel.
Joker: Folie À Deux’s Final Box Office Total Is So Much Lower Than The Original Movie
2019’s Grossed Over $1 Billion At The Global Box Office
Jokerbroke major box office records following its release in October 2019. As well as earning many accolades, including two Academy Awards (Best Actor for Phoenix and Best Original Score, deservedly, for Hildur Guðnadóttir),I was thrilled to seeJokerbecome the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever with a total global gross of $1.079 billion.Jokerwas the first and onlyR-rated movie to cross $1 billionprior to the 2024 release of Marvel Studios’Deadpool & Wolverine, which also bumped it off the top spot.Joker: Folie à Deuxhas not matched this huge level of success.
10 Reasons Joker: Folie a Deux’s Box Office Is Such A Disaster
Joker: Folie a Deux has fallen short of box office expectations, with a variety of factors contributing to its poor commercial performance.
In the days beforeJoker: Folie à Deuxhits streaming service Max, Warner Bros. has revealed the final box office total of the 2024 sequel. I was actually shocked to learn thatJoker: Folie à Deuxonly earned a total of $206.4 million at the global box office(viaBox Office Mojo), roughly a fifth of what the originalJokermovie achieved five years prior. This just about cleared the movie’s $200 million budget, a massive increase on its 2019 predecessor, but is far from enough forJoker: Folie à Deuxto break even.
Why Joker 2’s Box Office Total Is So Much Lower Than The Original Joker
Joker: Folie À Deux Divided Audiences
FollowingJoker’srelease in 2019, many called for a sequel to be developed which most wanted to includeArthur Fleck fully becomingtheJokerfrom DC Comics and waging war across Todd Phillips' gritty Gotham.Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix were hesitant to create a sequel, which perhaps led to them eventually developing a sequel far different to what many viewers actually wanted. I loved how subversive and unexpectedJoker: Folie à Deuxwas, and I really appreciated that it was what the director and story wanted, not the fans, but others weren’t so pleased with the outcome.
Todd Phillips’Jokerduology is set in an alternate continuity to James Gunn and Peter Safran’s newly-rebooted DC Universe and to Matt Reeves’The Batmanfranchise.
BillingJoker: Folie à Deuxas a movie musical also likely alienated viewers against the sequel. After watching Lady Gaga inA Star is Born, I knew this didn’t meanJoker: Folie à Deuxwould be all-singing, all-dancing, and I love a movie musical, so this didn’t put me off. Many don’t share these opinions, however, so perhaps would have been put off from going to theaters to catchFolie à Deux, especially when audiences' relationships to the theater-going experience is also changing.Joker: Folie à Deuxmay have been doomed from the start.
Joker: Folie À Deux’s Box Office Numbers Prove An Early Streaming Release Is For The Best
Joker: Folie À Deux Is Available On Max On July 10, 2025
Warner Bros. has confirmed thatJoker: Folie à Deux, Warner Bros, which is already available for home purchase, will hit streaming service Max on Friday, June 17, 2025, before releasing on HBO linear on December 14. This is a little over two months - 70 days - after the movie’s premiere in theaters. I think this could be a huge advantage toJoker: Folie à Deux, as the movie releasing so early on streaming means that viewers previously put off by poor reviews can finally see it for themselves.
This could go one of two ways.Either more viewers watchJoker: Folie à Deuxand agree with the consensus that the movie is disappointing and lackluster, or more viewers watch and realize that it actually isn’t as bad as the wave of early criticisms and undue hate led many to believe. I suspect the latter will be the case, which could culminate in the overall performance scores forJoker: Folie à Deuxgoing up. Unfortunately, this won’t impact the movie’s total box office numbers, which will ultimately be damning for Todd Phillips’Jokerfranchise.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Cast
Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to Todd Phillips' critically acclaimed comic book thriller Joker. Reprising his Academy Award-winning performance as the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, Joaquin Phoenix revisits the iconic DC character alongside Lady Gaga, who makes her debut as Joker’s lover Harley Quinn in this standalone continuity of the DC Universe.
