is the No. 1 movie at the box office, but it might not be destined for a happy ending.

In a turn of events that only Arthur Fleck would find funny, the follow-up to about the Batman villain opened in theaters nationwide this weekend to a muted $40 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, less than half that of its predecessor. The collapse was swift and has many in the industry wondering: How did with the same creative team go wrong?

Just three weeks ago, tracking services pegged the movie for a $70 million debut, which would still have been down a fair amount from 91裸聊视频淛oker91裸聊视频檚91裸聊视频� record-breaking $96.2 million launch in Oct. 2019. Reviews were mixed out of the , where and even got a 12-minute standing ovation.

But the homecoming glow was short-lived, and the fragile foundation would crumble in the coming weeks with its Rotten Tomatoes score dropping from 63% at Venice to 33% by its first weekend in theaters. Perhaps even more surprising were the audience reviews: Ticket buyers polled on opening night gave the film a deadly D CinemaScore. Exit polls from PostTrak weren91裸聊视频檛 any better. It got a meager half star out of five possible.

91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 a double whammy that91裸聊视频檚 very difficult to recover from,91裸聊视频� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 91裸聊视频淭he biggest issue of all is the reported budget. A $40 or $50 million opening for a less expensive movie would be a solid debut.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淛oker: Folie 脿 Deux91裸聊视频� cost at least twice as much as the first film to produce, though reported figures vary at exactly how pricey it was to make. Phillips told Variety that it was less than the reported $200 million; Others have it pegged at $190 million. Warner Bros. released the film in 4,102 locations in North America. About 12.5% of its domestic total came from 415 IMAX screens.

Internationally, it91裸聊视频檚 earned $81.1 million from 25,788 screens, bringing its total global earnings estimate to $121.1 million. In the next two weeks, 91裸聊视频淛oker 291裸聊视频� will also open in Japan and China.

Second place went to Universal and which added $18.7 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to nearly $64 million. Globally, it91裸聊视频檚 made over $100 million. Warner Bros.91裸聊视频� took third place in weekend five, Paramount91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淭ransformers One91裸聊视频� landed in fourth and Universal and Blumhouse91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淪peak No Evil91裸聊视频� rounded out the top five.

The other big new release of the weekend, Lionsgate91裸聊视频檚 flopped with just $1.5 million from just over 1,000 locations, despite an A+ CinemaScore.

Overall, the weekend is up from the same frame last year, but 91裸聊视频淛oker91裸聊视频檚91裸聊视频� start is an unwelcome twist for theater owners hoping to narrow the box office deficit.

Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix have said they aspired to make something as 91裸聊视频渁udacious91裸聊视频� as the first film. The , as a Joker superfan, and delved further into the mind of Arthur Fleck, imprisoned at Arkham and awaiting trial for the murders he committed in the first. It91裸聊视频檚 also a musical, with elaborately imagined song and dance numbers to old standards. called 91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频橦arlequin,91裸聊视频� alongside the film.

In his , Jake Coyle wrote that 91裸聊视频淧hillips has followed his very antihero take on the Joker with a very anti-sequel. It combines prison drama, courthouse thriller and musical, and yet turns out remarkably inert given how combustible the original was.91裸聊视频�

The sequel has already been the subject of many think pieces, some who posit that the sequel was deliberately alienating fans of the first movie. In cruder terms, it91裸聊视频檚 been called a 91裸聊视频渕iddle finger.91裸聊视频� But fans often ignore the advice of critics, especially when it comes to opening their wallets to see revered comic book characters on the big screen.

91裸聊视频淭hey took a swing for the fences,91裸聊视频� Dergarabedian said. 91裸聊视频淏ut except for a couple of outliers, audiences in 2024 seem to want to know what they91裸聊视频檙e getting when they91裸聊视频檙e going to the theater. They want the tried and true, the familiar.91裸聊视频�

It has some high-profile defenders too: Francis Ford Coppola, who last week got his own for his pricey, ambitious and divisive film 91裸聊视频淢egalopolis,91裸聊视频� entered the Joker chat with an Instagram post.

91裸聊视频淍ToddPhillips films always amaze me and I enjoy them thoroughly,91裸聊视频� Coppola wrote. 91裸聊视频淓ver since the wonderful 91裸聊视频楾he Hangover91裸聊视频� he91裸聊视频檚 always one step ahead of the audience never doing what they expect.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淢egalopolis,91裸聊视频� meanwhile, dropped a terminal 74% in its second weekend with just over $1 million, bringing its total just shy of $6.5 million against a $120 million budget.

Deadline editor Anthony D91裸聊视频橝lessandro thinks the problem started with the idea to make the Joker sequel a musical. 91裸聊视频淣o fan of the original movie wanted to see a musical sequel,91裸聊视频� he wrote on Saturday.

The and the subject of much discourse, then about whether it might send the wrong message to the wrong type of person. And yet people still flocked to see what the fuss was about. 91裸聊视频淛oker91裸聊视频� went on to pick up 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture and best director, and three wins. It also made over $1 billion and was the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, until this summer when Marvel91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淒eadpool & Wolverine91裸聊视频� took the crown.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. 91裸聊视频淛oker: Folie 脿 Deux,91裸聊视频� $40 million.

2. 91裸聊视频淭he Wild Robot,91裸聊视频� $18.7 million.

3. 91裸聊视频淏eetlejuice Beetlejuice,91裸聊视频� $10.3 million.

4. 91裸聊视频淭ransformers One,91裸聊视频� $5.4 million.

5. 91裸聊视频淪peak No Evil,91裸聊视频� $2.8 million.

6. 91裸聊视频淪am and Colby: The Legends of Paranormal,91裸聊视频� $1.8 million.

7. 91裸聊视频淲hite Bird,91裸聊视频� $1.5 million.

8. 91裸聊视频淒eadpool & Wolverine,91裸聊视频� $1.5 million.

9. 91裸聊视频淭he Substance,91裸聊视频� $1.3 million.

10. 91裸聊视频淢egalopolis,91裸聊视频� $1.1 million.