Projections were continually downgraded throughout the weekend; most rival studios showed it opening to at least $45 million to $47 million.

When the Warner movie first came on tracking 3 weeks ago, it was pacing to earn $70 million.

The culprit: terrible word of mouth.

Overseas, Joker 2 opens everywhere this weekend, save for Japan and China, where it launches next  month. Warners had hoped for foreign debut of $80 to $85 million; overseas grosses weren’t immediately available.

In 2019, Phillips’ Joker debuted to a dreamy $96.2 million in America on its way to record-shattering worldwide total of $1 billion.

That film earned relatively good reviews, while audiences gave it a B+ CinemaScore. Its critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes is a fresh 68 percent, compared to a rotten 33 percent for Foile à Deux.

Even superhero movies that don’t work at the box office usually earn decent CinemaScores. Marvel Studios’ The Marvels, which opened to a dismal $46.2 million last year, earned a B. Ditto for fellow Warners’ film The Flash, which opened to a problematic $55 million domestically.

The movie still hopes to be a major player in the Oscars race, particularly for Phoenix and Gaga’s performances.

The sequel reunites Phillips with Phoenix, who returns in the titular role after winning the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Arthur Fleck/Joker.

Neither Phillips nor Phoenix was sure about making a sequel; they contemplated putting on a Broadway show instead.

The first Joker cost just $55 million to produce before marketing. After its success, Phillips’ was given a net production budget of $190 million to $200 million for the second installment. Part of that went to bringing aboard Gaga in a role inspired by the comic book character Harley Quinn (the filmmakers are hoping she will lure in female moviegoers).

Much of the film consists of fantasy musical numbers starring the couple, who meet while Arthur is in Arkham Asylum, awaiting trial for his crimes from the first movie. However, neither Warners nor Phillips is comfortable calling it a straight-up musical, given that only two of the characters sing, versus a traditional musical, which usually has scores of people participating in the numbers.