'Joker: Folie à Deux' flops at the box office, with brutal audience reviews

“Joker: Folie à Deux” is a box office dud.

Warner Bros. Pictures’ comic book sequel stumbled to first place at the domestic box office this weekend, grossing a weak $40 million, according to studio estimates.

The highly anticipated film failed to match the success of its Oscar-winning predecessor, which opened to $96.2 million in 2019 and broke the October box office record in the United States and Canada.

The second installment in director Todd Phillips’ “Joker” saga — starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga — fell far short of analyst projections, which estimated that the comic-book adaptation would launch somewhere between $50 million and $65 million domestically.

The new “Joker” also cost significantly more than its predecessor, carrying a reported budget of at least $190 million before marketing. The original cost $55 million to make.

The movie was expected to fall short of the original’s impressive debut after generating only $7 million in Thursday previews. For comparison, “Joker” amassed $13.3 million in Thursday previews.

Internationally, “Joker: Folie à Deux” earned $81.1 million for a worldwide debut gross of $121.1 million.

Rounding out the top three at the domestic box office this weekend were Universal Pictures’ “The Wild Robot,” which collected $18.7 million in its sophomore weekend for a total of $64 million so far; and Warner Bros.’ “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which added $10.3 million in its fifth outing for a cumulative of $265.5 million.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” stars Phoenix as titular antihero Arthur Fleck and Gaga as his cackling love interest and partner-in-crime Harleen Francis Quinzel (better known as Harley Quinn). The main ensemble also features Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and returning cast member Zazie Beetz.

Unlike the first film — which garnered critical acclaim and 11 Oscar nominations — “Joker: Folie à Deux” has been plagued by negative reviews. The follow-up received a dreadful 34% rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes and a dismal “D” grade from audiences polled by CinemaScore.

“Folie à Deux” also deviates from “Joker” in another significant way: It’s a musical. Or, as Phillips has tactfully described it, “a movie where music is an essential element.”

“There are 11 songs on the soundtrack album and more than that in the movie, presented in full or in pieces. The numbers sometimes serve a narrative purpose, other times not so much,” writes Michael Ordoña for the L.A. Times.

“The performers are game, but these musical breaks try our patience. They often interrupt the momentum, and there’s not much of that to begin with, with no attempt to create suspense regarding the verdict or any grand plan Arthur [Phoenix] or Lee [Gaga] might hatch. That lack of mirthful masterminding reminds us, painfully, that this isn’t anything close to ‘Joker.’ ”

Opening in theaters next weekend are Cineverse Corp.’s “Terrifier 3,” Sony Pictures’ expansion of “Saturday Night,” Focus Features’ “Piece by Piece,” A24’s “We Live in Time” and Toho International’s “My Hero Academia: You’re Next.”