Arthur Fleck might be smiling throughout Joker: Folie à Deux, but the initial box office tracking for the anticipated sequel is no laughing matter.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, tracking for Joker: Folie à Deux has the Warner Bros. movie opening to $50 million to $60 million domestically. That’s down from the $70 million projection from three weeks ago.
Joker 2 should fare better overseas, with an international opening weekend projection of $80 million to $85 million, bringing the worldwide total to an estimated $140 million.
By no means is Joker: Folie à Deux expected to flop. With an estimated budget of $190 million, Joker 2 should turn a profit for Warner Bros. A $140 million worldwide opening would be a win in normal circumstances. However, the studio’s expectations for Folie à Deux are sky-high because of how Joker performed at the box office.
Opening in October 2019, Joker shattered expectations with a record-breaking domestic opening of $96.2 million. Joker ended its worldwide theatrical run at nearly $1.1 billion, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film until Deadpool & Wolverine surpassed it this summer. Joker also defied the odds critically, receiving the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and winning two Oscars — Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Original Score — out of 11 nominations.
Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker: Folie à Deux stars Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a patient at Arkham Asylum waiting to stand trial for the crimes committed in the first film. While incarcerated, Arthur falls in love with Lee (Lady Gaga), the woman who will become Harley Quinn. Joker 2 includes musical elements, though Phillips hesitates to call it a musical.
Initial reviews on Joker 2 have been polarizing, to say the least. Folie à Deux owns a 42% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 47 on Metacritic.
Joker: Folie à Deux opens in theaters on October 4, 2024.