Todd Phillips’ sequel to R-rated box office hit ‘Joker’ (2019) opens this week and will reportedly not reach the box office heights of the first film (the second highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time — $1.07 billion).

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is poised for a low projection of $55 million domestically at 4,000 US theaters (including IMAX) on opening weekend.

‘Joker’ (2019) soared past an $80 million domestic projection, hitting the best R-rated opening of all-time (at the time, now taken over by ‘Deadpool And Wolverine’) at $96.2 million (domestic).

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ has been met with harsh critic reviews, as Rotten Tomatoes issued the movie a 48% from 85 critics. The fan response will be revealed this weekend.

The sequel premiered at the Venice Film Festival, which didn’t do the film any favors as poor reviews flooded out from the theatre after the screening (although it received an 11-minute standing ovation). This has evidently impacted the box office, as less audiences are keen on watching a musical follow-up to the gritty, crime-noir ‘Taxi Driver’-esc first film.

But Joker 2 could also earn the best opening for a live-feature musical, even ahead of 2018’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ which saw a $51 million opening with domestic audiences.

The expectation for the the sequel is to roll in $85 million internationally (high-end). ‘Joker’ (2019) opened far higher at $139 million.

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