Prior to October, if anyone had forecasted that Joker: Folie à Deux would drop from the No. 1 spot after just one weekend to be overtaken by another killer clown film, it would have seemed far-fetched. However, that is precisely what transpired as Terrifier 3 emerged as the new U.S. box-office leader with $18.3 million in its debut weekend, according to Deadline. Meanwhile, the Joker sequel slipped to third place, behind The Wild Robot's $13.45 million, which has now accumulated $83.7 million to date.
There were already indications of Folie à Deux's box-office struggles before its release, which opened to a disappointing $37.7 million, significantly lower than the $96.2 million that the original Joker achieved in its opening weekend in 2019. In its second weekend, Joker: Folie à Deux saw an 81% decline to just $7.055 million. This marks the steepest drop for a DC superhero-inspired film. Only two other DC movies have fared worse in their second weekends: Wonder Woman 1984 with $5.4 million in 2020, during a time when theaters were largely closed due to the pandemic, and Jonah Hex, which managed only $1.6 million during its second weekend in 2010.
The outlook for Folie à Deux doesn't improve much when considering international numbers. As reported by Deadline, the film added $22.7 million from 77 other countries over the past weekend, bringing its international total to $113.7 million. With its domestic total at $51.6 million, the worldwide total stands at $165.3 million against a $200 million budget, not including the substantial advertising campaign. It's also important to note that studios typically retain only half of what their films earn in theaters, with the remainder going to theater owners. This sequel is unlikely to turn a profit and is poised to incur significant losses for the studio.
Warner Bros. does have one bright spot to celebrate. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice finished in fourth place, just behind Folie à Deux, adding $7.05 million to its $275.6 million domestic total. This makes it the biggest hit of the fall movie season so far. However, it won't be enough to offset the losses from Joker 2. At the rate Folie à Deux is declining, it might drop out of the top 10 by its fourth weekend. In the meantime, the Joker sequel is expected to land in the lower half of the top 10 next weekend.
