Critics can complain all they want, but those lukewarm reviews coming out of the 81st Venice International Film Festival aren’t going to derail Joker: Folie à Deux’s $100-million money train over the sequel’s opening weekend. The Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga-led DC villain flick currently registers 61% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but it is still forecast to make between $115 million and $145 million domestically during its debut this October, according to Boxoffice Pro.
If the prediction holds true, whether it be on the high or low end of those numbers, Joker: Folie à Deux is en route to outperforming director Todd Phillips’ original Joker film back in 2019. Arthur Fleck’s (Phoenix) big-screen debut five years ago just missed out on cracking the $100-million mark during its premiere with $96.2 million (per Box Office Mojo).
Still, that’s a monumental feat considering Joker only cost $55 million to make. The Batman villain’s Silver Screen origin story almost doubled its production costs in profits over its first three days in theaters alone — and that’s not taking the international numbers into account.
Plus, Phoenix and Phillips’ cinematic collaboration in 2019 still succeeded even though it didn’t wow the critics either. Joker only did slightly better on Rotten Tomatoes where critics are concerned, registering 69% on the Tomatometer to this day. But fans ensured that Joker went on to become a box office blockbuster.
Will Folie à Deux Live Up to Joker?
Ultimately, the movie-going fandom will win the day, or it won’t, for Joker: Folie à Deux. Just like the original film, Joker 2’s Rotten Tomatoes score isn’t anything worth writing home about. However, Joaquin Phoenix’s first go-round as Arthur Fleck scored strongly with the fans. Joker’s Popcornmeter is currently 89% against 50,000+ verified ratings, and the DC villain flick also boasts a “B+” CinemaScore. But will Folie à Deux have the same staying power at the box office? And will it receive the same measure of awards praise that the 2019 movie did?
Joker: Folie à Deux has large, clown-sized shoes to fill financially compared to Joker. Director Todd Phillips’ first film knocked it out of the park on a global scale and ultimately made $335.5 million total at the domestic box office. But the movie fared far, far better internationally, with an epic tally of $743.5 million overseas. And when all the smoke had cleared, Joker became the highest-grossing R-rated film worldwide with a staggering $1.078 billion. As of this summer, Deadpool & Wolverine ($1.266 billion) now holds that honor.
When it comes to contending for major awards, interested parties will just have to wait and see. However, Joker and its sequel compare favorably, at least where the Venice Film Festival is concerned. The 2019 film received an eight-minute standing ovation during its premiere in Italy, while Folie à Deux enjoyed an 11-minute salute (video below) – despite the fact that Phoenix exited the screening early as the applause still loudly resonated in the theater.
What Folie à Deux will ultimately have a hard time living up to are all the Oscar accolades the Joker enjoyed. Phillips’ take on the Batman villain was nominated for a total of 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. And the film ended up winning two golden statues. Most notably, Phoenix won Best Actor for his performance as the titular character, and Hildur Guðnadóttir walked away with the honor for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score). Regardless, Phoenix and Lady Gaga’s musical mayhem in the highly anticipated sequel should enthrall fans of the DC Comics characters.
Joker: Folie à Deux
opens in theaters on
October 4.
Check out the film’s official trailer below:
