‘Joker’ sequel earns meager $40M at weekend box office

Joker: Folie a Deux, the sequel to the 2019 hit Joker, is struggling at the box office. Despite its $200 million budget, the movie made only $40 million at the domestic box office during its opening weekend, far below expectations.

For comparison, the first movie opened with $100 million and eventually earned over $1 billion globally.

The musical sequel, featuring Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn and Joaquin Phoenix as Joker supervillains in love, was labeled slow by some viewers. It received a D rating from CinemaScore, the lowest ever for a comic book-inspired movie.

Overall, the movie is being seen as both a financial and critical disappointment for Warner Bros, which faced additional challenges this year, like its TNT network losing NBA broadcasting rights.