Joker: Folie à Deuxhas been released worldwide, with its box office numbers garnering a lot of attention, comparisons to the first movie, and questions about the future of the DC franchise. When looking at thelist of upcoming DC movies,Joker 2was the last before James Gunn’s DC Universe truly begins withSupermanin 2025. As such, a great deal of attention was placed onJoker: Folie à Deux, not only to gauge how DC’s Elseworlds properties will fare moving forward but also due to the first movie’s overwhelming success.
By the time ofJoker: Folie à Deux’s ending, many were disappointed by the sequel. The attention it received pre-release proved not to extend into positive reviews as, despiteJoker 2’s promising castand craftsmanship, the story proved not to resonate with critics and audiences alike. This immediately led attention to turn to how the film would perform at the box office, especially givenJoker: Folie à Deux’s massive budgetof $200 million. As it turns out,Joker 2’s box office proved worthy of exploration, sporting negative comparisons to the first movie and difficult questions aboutJoker 3.
Joker 2’s Total Box Office (So Far)
Joker: Folie à Deux’s Domestic, International, & Worldwide Numbers Explained
As alluded to,Joker 2underperformed at the box office. At the time of writing, the film has not yet earned back its production budget. As a general rule of thumb, Hollywood movies are said to have to earn two-and-a-half times their production budget back to begin turning a profit, a reality which does not look feasible forJoker: Folie à Deuxunless it proves to have longevity at the worldwide box office.
$40,000,000
$81,100,000
$121,100,000
$200,000,000
While these numbers do not look overly damning, the nature of Hollywood box office of late indicates thatJoker 2is shaping up to be a box office flop. For one, franchise movies are only growing larger in terms of budget, withJoker: Folie à Deux’s $200 million reflecting this. Secondly, movies increasingly rely on opening weekend numbers to be deemed a success, withJoker 2failing to turn a profit upon release. Finally, movies are facing progressively shorter windows in cinemas, with the gap between worldwide releases and home video growing ever shorter.
Joker 2’s Opening Weekend Box Office
Joker: Folie à Deux’s Opening Weekend Was One Of Disappointment
With opening weekend numbers being more important than ever to a big-budget movie’s box office, it is worth exploring howJoker 2fared in its first week of release. The film was released worldwide on Jul 07, 2025, yet failed to bring in the same success as its predecessor. In North America and Canada, the film was initially projected to earn at least $100 million in its opening weekend. However, asJoker 2’s release date grew closer, projections dropped to $50-$70 million as questions over who the film was for were raised.
Who Is Joker 2 Actually For?
Joker: Folie à Deux is a curious case of audience provocation, despite having so many things going for it. And we have to ask: who was this even for?
Joker: Folie à Deuxsomehow grossed lower these poor projections. As of its first weekend,Joker 2had earned a domestic total of $40 million, vastly underperforming its original expectations. Overseas,Joker: Folie à Deuxperformed better, but not by a drastically increased margin.Joker 2’s international opening weekend box office total came in at $81.1 million taking the film’s worldwide opening box office to $121.1 million, significantly below the film’s production budget.
How Joker 2’s Box Office Compares To The First Movie
Naturally, the box office returns ofJoker: Folie à Deuxare going to be compared to the first movie. After all,2019’sJokerwas a certified box office hit, becoming the first R-rated movie in history to gross over $1 billion. At the end of its theatrical run,Jokerhad grossed a domestic total of $335 million. When combined with an international haul of $743 million,Joker’s worldwide box office gross sat at $1.07 billion. When taking into account thatJokeronly cost $55 million to produce, its success was evident.
Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine became the second R-rated movie in history to earn $1 billion at the worldwide box office, taking the crown from 2019’s Joker with a $1.3 billion worldwide haul.
Unfortunately for the DC film, it is not onlyJoker 2’s total box office that compares unfavorably to its predecessor, but its opening weekend too.Joker 2’s $121 million worldwide opening box office is dwarfed by that of the first movie, which earned a worldwide opening weekend total of $247 million. $96 million of this total came in domestic territories, with the other $151 million being earned worldwide.
As evident,Joker: Folie à Deuxfailed to earn even half ofJoker’s opening weekend numbers upon its own debut. Of course, this will be a disappointment to Warner Bros., with the studio committing to a much bigger budget for the sequel. While it remains to be seen whetherJoker 2will have legs at the box office and overcome a poor opening weekend, it is difficult to see it matching up to its predecessor’s record-breaking total.
What Joker 2’s Box Office Means For The Franchise
The Story Of Arthur Fleck Looks Certain To Be Over
Above all else,Joker 2’s poor box office numbers mean the franchise is all but over. It is worth noting that the story ofJoker: Folie à Deuxdoes not leave much room for a sequel. DespiteJoker 2’s unanswered questions, the film ends with the death of Arthur Fleck, hinting that his time as the titular Crown Prince of Crime is over. That said,even if the creatives ofJoker 2wanted to create another story in this world, the film’s lackluster performance at the box office may put a swift end to these desires.
Any spin-offs teased byJoker 2’s ending are likely dead on arrival…
In a business that is ever reliant on profits, it is hard to imagine Warner Bros. offering up the money to produceJoker 3’s storygivenJoker: Folie à Deux’s inability to recapture the first film’s success. Beyond that, any spin-offs teased byJoker 2’s ending are likely dead on arrival also. Not only has writer-director Todd Phillips insisted he is done with the franchise (viaVariety) but the poor box office numbers ofJoker: Folie à Deuxmean that the possibility of other directors coming on board is just as unlikely.
After the ending ofJoker 2, the most likely spin-offs could be centered aroundLady Gaga’s Harley Quinnor the many other Batman elements teased in the film and its predecessor. For example, 2019’sJokerteased a young Bruce Wayne being affected by Arthur Fleck’s actions, whileJoker 2directly foreshadows Harvey Dent’s Two-Face. Despite the possibilities for several continuations of the franchise,Joker: Folie à Deux’s box office likely means that, as Arthur came to realize in the movie, Joker is no more.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Cast
Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to Todd Phillips' critically acclaimed comic book thriller Joker. Reprising his Academy Award-winning performance as the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, Joaquin Phoenix revisits the iconic DC character alongside Lady Gaga, who makes her debut as Joker’s lover Harley Quinn in this standalone continuity of the DC Universe.
