“Joker: Folie á Deux” fails to recover at the international box office, where the offbeat comic book musical grossed $22.6 million from 77 territories in its second weekend of release.

Although the film has performed much better in overseas markets than domestically – with $113 million internationally and $51 million in North America, bringing its global total to $165.3 million – ticket sales have fallen far short of expectations. The Warner Bros. sequel cost $200 million to produce (not including the approximately $100 million spent on marketing and other distribution costs). According to expert sources, at this pace it will be difficult to get close to the $450 million needed to break even. The original 2019 “Joker” was wildly successful with $335 million domestically and $743 million internationally, for a global total of $1.078 billion. And it had a price tag of about $60 million, so it was also hugely profitable.

“Joker 2” debuted in Japan this weekend with $2.4 million and lands in the next big territory, China, on October 16. So far, Britain is the top grossing overseas market with $11.8 million, followed by Germany with $7.9 million, Italy with $7.6 million, Mexico with $7.4 million and France with $7.1 million. Moviegoers who went to the cinema to see ‘Folie a Deux’ have opted for premium screens, with Imax contributing $13.5 million to global ticket sales.

Revenue for the “Joker” sequel lagged behind Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot,” which rose to No. 1 among Hollywood offerings over the weekend with $24.1 million from 55 territories. The well-reviewed family film has collected $64.7 million overseas and $148 million worldwide to date. The studio is spreading out its international release, with plans to open “The Wild Robot” in other markets in the coming weeks.