'Joker 2' Stumbles Out of The Gate, Low Box Office and Poor Reviews

Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix don't seem to be enough on their own to make the 'Joker' sequel a hit ... and the early returns are anything but promising.

"Joker: Folie à Deux" is stumbling out of the gate ... making only $20 million at the domestic box office Friday, and that's not even the worst part.

The Todd Phillips-led movie is clearly bombing with moviegoers ... earning a "D" grade on CinemaScore. It's a record, albeit a bad one ... the lowest CinemaScore grade ever given to a comic book movie. Yes -- lower than "Madame Web."

Rotten Tomatoes isn't laughing with 'Joker 2' either ... giving the movie a 32% critic score, which is just a tick above the film's 31% audience score. Splat.

Joaquin won an Oscar for the first go-round, but this flick combines a love story with a musical ... it's not going over well, and folks are ripping it to shreds online.

Projections for the opening weekend box office are sitting below $50 million ... worth noting because the budget was reportedly $200 million, a huge increase from the $65 million needed to make the first film.