Joker: Folly à Deux is another flop at the US box office in its second week after a sluggish opening

Joker: Folie à Deux continues its downward trajectory with historically low box office figures in its second week after flopping in its opening weekend.

The sequel to the 2019 film Joker, which was a hit with both critics and fans, Joker: Folly à Deux grossed $38 million at the US box office in its opening weekend, well short of earlier predictions in the $50-70 million range.

But its second weekend was worse, earning just $7m across 4,102 theaters in the US. The 81% drop is the sharpest drop in comic book movie history, and the largest domestic drop for any movie.

According to Box Office Mojo's chart, which measures box office data collected since 1982, the 81% drop made Joker: Follies a Deux the top 20 biggest second weekend drop.

The record fall for a comic book movie was previously held by The Marvels, which bombed at the box office last year and dropped 78% in its second weekend after being released in 4,030 theaters.

Worldwide, Joker: Folie à Deux has grossed $165m so far, far from making back its $200m budget.

By comparison, Joker was made with a third of its sequel's budget and opened to $96.2 million in the US, earning $248.4 million worldwide in just one weekend. In total, it grossed over $1 billion worldwide, becoming the first R-rated film to do so, and remains the highest-grossing R-rated film until this year, when it surpassed another comic book film, Deadpool and Wolverine.

Joker was also popular with critics and won two Academy Awards from 11 nominations, including Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role.

Phoenix reprises her role in the follow-up, while Lady Gaga joins Lee Quinzel, the love interest based on the Harley Quinn character.

The sequel, which is a musical, was largely dismissed by critics as “boring” and “dazzlingly dull”.

Three-star reviews from the Guardian and the Observer both praised Lady Gaga's performance, but found the film to be “laborious” and “delightful”.