It’s the battle of the clowns at the box office as Joker 2, or known by its official title Joker: Folie a Deux, has been overtaken by the horror-slasher Terrifier 3 at the domestic box office. Joker 2 has now earned the record of having the worst second-weekend decline for a comic book movie in history, dropping 81% from its underwhelming $37 million opening weekend.
As revealed by Comscore’s stats (via IGN), Joker: Folie a Deux only managed to earn $7 million domestically in the US over the weekend, signifying a massive 81% drop from its opening weekend. This record was previously held by The Marvels which had a 78% drop on its second weekend. At the moment, Joker 2 currently sits at #3 at the North American box office, taken over by the horror sequel, Terrifier 3, which $18.2 million. Coincidentally, both movies feature clowns. Meanwhile, DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot came in at #2 with $13.4 million.
Taking into account international box office rakings, Joker 2 has earned $165 million so far worldwide. Unfortunately, this is far from what it needs to break even. According to previous reports, the movie was made on a budget of $200 million. In order to break even, it would need to cross at least $450 million worldwide. Given the trajectory of the movie’s performance right now, it seems highly unlikely that it will be able to reach that goal or even turn a decent profit.
The comic book sequel’s poor performance can be attributed to its poor reviews and early word of mouth calling it much inferior to its acclaimed 2019 predecessor. As of writing, it has a very low 33% approval rating on RottenTomatoes with only 32% approval from audiences. Adding a bit more salt to the wound, Terrifier 3 is currently sitting at a higher 77% approval rating with a much more respectable 89% approval from horror enthusiasts.
Joker: Folie a Deux is currently playing in cinemas worldwide.
Source: IGN
