Even With Lady Gaga, ‘Joker 2’ Will Struggle to Match 2019’s ‘Joker’ in Box Office Debut

variety.com:

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter In 2019, “Joker” became an improbable box office smash and cultural juggernaut.

Sure, the R-rated crime drama was based on the ubiquitous Batman villain. But this take on the Clown Prince of Crime was darker and more disturbing than your average comic book adaptation — more akin to Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” than the DC anti-hero adventure “The Suicide Squad.” Directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker” beat the odds (and controversy over security concerns) to generate $1.07 billion in worldwide ticket sales against a trim $55 million budget.

After the Warner Bros. release became one of the most profitable superhero movies in history and earned 11 Oscar nominations, a sequel was all but destined.

Yet the second film, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which opens in theaters on Friday, may not get the last laugh. The follow-up, bringing back Phoenix as Arthur Fleck and introducing Lady Gaga as his accomplice Harley Quinn, is tracking to collect $50 million to $65 million from 4,100 North American theaters in its box office debut.