Joker 2 beats out Madame Web and Morbius to make cinema history in the worst possible way

This regrettable milestone spells doom for Joaquin Phoenix’s blockbuster sequel

Joker 2 appears to be in serious trouble.

After months, if not years of anticipation, the sequel to Todd Phillips’ 2019 film Joker has finally arrived – and it’s safe to say that it’s not exactly living up to expectations.

Released on 4 October, Joker: Folie à Deux sees Joaquin Phoenix reprise his Oscar-winning role as Arthur Fleck, with Lady Gaga joining the cast as Dr Harleen Quinzel aka Harley Quinn.

Early reviews of the film following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival last month were mixed, with more negative reviews emerging.

Currently, it has an early Rotten Tomatoes rating of 33 per cent from critics, and a paltry 31 per cent audience score based on over 2,500 verified views.

The bad news keeps coming, as the sequel makes cinema history for all the wrong reasons.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joker: Folie à Deux is the first Hollywood comic book movie to earn a D CinemaScore from opening day audiences, spelling doom for its box office future. By comparison, Joker earned a favourable B+ CinemaScore.

CinemaScore measures a film’s appeal by polling early reactions to major releases.

Film-Joker (© 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved)

The sequel’s D-rating puts it on par with Russell Crowe’s terribly rated horror film The Exorcism, which is the only other film in the post-pandemic era to score as poor as D, according to Collider.

Even Francis Ford Coppola’s incredibly divisive Megalopolis managed to score higher with a D+.

With a D CinemaScore, Joker 2 is the most poorly reviewed studio comic book film of all time, falling behind even the much maligned Batman & Robin, Morbius, and Madame Web, all of which earned a C+.

JOKER (AP)

Even the notoriously terrible 2015 Fantastic Four scraped a C-.

That history-making low score is already translating into trouble at the box office for Joker 2, with the film coming in well behind expectations.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, heading into the weekend, the film was predicted to earn between $50m to $60m (£38m to £45m), already down from the $70m (£53m) expected three weeks ago. In reality, the film is projected to launch less than $50m (£38m).

JOKER (AP)

In comparison, 2019’s Joker debuted to $96.2m (£73m) on its way to a total of $1bn (£762m).

Critics are as unimpressed with the film as audiences are, with New York Times calling it a “half-baked, half-hearted musical”.

“Even fans of Joker are unlikely to find much to redeem this chaotic, profoundly stupid mess,” said Audrey Fox for Looper.

The Independent was less negative, with film critic Geoffrey Macnab awarding it four stars in a review that reads: “The darkness at the core of the film is underlined by its very brutal ending, which rejects comic book conventions in favour of psychological depth.

“Phoenix’s performance remains powerful and stirring, too. The genius of it is that we can’t help but care for Arthur despite his neediness and derangement.”

Joker: Folie à Deux is out in cinemas now.