In 2019, Joker won Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar, and in 2025, Joker 2 took the actor straight to a Razzie. A downfall no one could have predicted, yet here we are. What started as a career-defining moment with his Oscar-winning performance has now taken a sharp turn.
Joker: Folie à Deux | Credit: Warner Bros.
Joker 2 walked away with two Golden Raspberry Awards, winning in the categories of “Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel ” and “Worst Screen Combo.“
From Oscars to Razzies, a Joker’s journey…
Joker: Folie à Deux didn’t just flop, it practically danced its way into the Razzies. The musical sequel to Todd Phillips‘ Oscar-nominated Joker racked up a brutal seven nominations, despite the Razzies initially miscounting and saying six (still didn’t cover up the shame though).
RelatedDavid Zaslav Was Reportedly So Mad After Joker 2 He Went Nuclear on WB Studio Heads Who Supported the Movie From Day One
The dishonors include Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off, or Sequel. And as if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, both Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga landed nominations for Worst Actor, Worst Actress, and Worst Screen Combo.
Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures
The writing was on the wall early on, after a lukewarm reception at the Venice Film Festival, the film flopped at the box office, grossing just $206 million against a bloated $200 million budget. A far cry from the first Joker’s billion-dollar success and Phoenix’s Oscar win.
Other losers who joined the party…
As everyone knows by now, Joker 2 strutted away with two Golden Raspberry, Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel and Worst Screen Combo, out of its seven nominations.
Related“Or sometimes you just get paid a lot to make slop”: Lady Gaga Really Thought She Cooked With That Tone-Deaf Defense of Joker 2
But Joker 2 wasn’t the only film facing the wrath of the Razzies. Madame Web took home the not-so-coveted title of Worst Film, as expected. Meanwhile, Megalopolis, Borderlands, and Reagan weren’t far behind, each dominating the nominations in their own right, but none quite as spectacularly as Joker 2.
Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie à Deux | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures
Other big winners (or should we say losers?) of the night included Dakota Johnson, who took home Worst Actress for Madame Web, and Jerry Seinfeld, who snagged the Worst Actor Razzie for his work in Unfrosted.
Meanwhile, legendary director Francis Ford Coppola was crowned Worst Director for Megalopolis, this year’s Razzies really brought in the best of the bests, to say the least. But unlike most Razzie recipients, he actually took it in stride. He wrote on Instagram,
I am thrilled to accept the Razzie award in so many important categories for @megalopolisfilm, and for the distinctive honor of being nominated as the worst director, worst screenplay, and worst picture at a time when so few have the courage to go against the prevailing trends of contemporary moviemaking!
It was also a year of things fans had hoped and dreamed for, just not in the way they expected. Now, they’re looking ahead to 2025, hoping it will bring masterpieces worthy of the Razzies in the coming year!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
