The highly anticipated Joker: Folie à Deux has finally arrived and hasn't made the strongest impression thus far. So far, audiences have been ripping the sequel apart on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics aren't high the Joker follow-up either. On top of all that, Todd Phillips’ musical movie is heading for a very disappointing showing at the box office. Now, after the flick was poorly received by RT users, it’s made history as the lowest rated comic book movie on another scoring metric.
While RT has proven to be an influential tool when it comes to measuring the reception to a movie, the same is also true of CinemaScore. It's on that platform that Joker: Folie à Deux landed a D rating on the site, which has metrics that are pulled from moviegoer polls. As mentioned, that score makes the Joaquin Phoenix-led feature the lowest rated superhero/comic book-related film in the website’s history. That record previously belonged to the critically panned 2015 film Fantastic Four, which earned a C-.
As previously alluded to, the numbers on Rotten Tomatoes aren’t too hot either. The psychological drama musical currently holds a 33% critics score based on 258 reviews. The audience score is even lower, as it sits at 31% right now. Considering all of this information, it’s fair to say that Warner Bros.' latest big-screen endeavor – which reportedly has a budget between $190 and $200 million – is not resonating with much of the general public.
2019’s Joker fared far better when it came to being rated on CinemaScore. That film, which also hit the billion-dollar mark globally, earned a B score. At the time of its release, the movie also quite polarizing but, in the years since then, it’s earned a strong following. Whether or not reception to its recently released predecessor will change over time remains to be seen.
Folie à Deux re-acquaints viewers with Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck, who’s currently awaiting trial in Arkham Hospital after his murderous actions in the original film. While incarcerated, he meets a woman named Harleen "Lee" Quinzel, and the two become infatuated with each other. The story subsequently uses music to chronicle what seems to be the beginning of a twisted love story. And, all the while, Arthur must contend with his court proceedings, which are being widely covered by the media.
Todd Phillips seemed to view this as a finite story and confirmed to THR that he sees this movie as the end of his tenure working within the DC Universe. Joker 2’s ending, which pissed off our own Sean O’Connell, also seems to suggest that the story Phillips set out to tell is done. Regardless, based on the record-low CinemaScore and early box office numbers, one would imagine that a threequel wouldn’t be in the cards, regardless.
You can make up your own mind by seeing Joker: Folie à Deux, which is now playing in theaters. Also, be sure to check out information on upcoming DC movies as well as general titles that have yet to release as part of the 2024 movie schedule.
