Following Joaquin Phoenix’s 2020 Oscar win for Joker, fans were all anticipating yet another award-winning performance from the talented actor. That is until we saw Joker: Folie a Deux. As review after review pulled the sequel apart like the clumsy, disjointed mess that it was, we realised early on that Phoenix had little to no chance of winning another Academy Award. Yet the 50-year-old actor has just received one noteworthy nomination for his performance in the widely criticised movie—just not the kind he had hoped for.
What Are the Razzie Awards and Why Is Joaquin Phoenix Nominated?
This year, Phoenix is up for the Razzie Award for Worst Actor of 2025, a satirical award show that “honours” the worst in the film biz. He’s in the running alongside big names like Jack Black, Zachary Levi, Dennis Quaid, and even Jerry Seinfeld for this dubious honour. But considering the enormous backlash the Joker sequel received, we’d say that Phoenix’s prospects of winning the Razzie appear to be pretty high.
It’s not even that the well-known actor’s performance as Arthur Fleck was subpar by any means. In fact, there have been worse depictions of the Clown Prince of Crime, including Troy Baker’s attempt to simply voice the character as a Mark Hamill impersonation in Batman: Arkham Origins and Jared Leto’s over-the-top mobster clown in Suicide Squad. Still, just the overall reception of Folie a Deux (from the Joker’s poorly conceived character development to Phoenix’s singing—or lack thereof) was enough to qualify him for a Razzie award for Worst Actor. Of course, he isn’t alone in this dubious honour.
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How Did Joker: Folie à Deux Earn Six Razzie Nominations?
The film has racked up six other nominations, including Worst Picture, Worst Actress (Lady Gaga), Worst Director (for Todd Phillips), and Worst Screen Combo, among others—which just goes to show how disastrous the film was in the eyes of critics and audiences alike.
As one of our own at Fortress so eloquently stated (and I loosely quote), “Joker 2 managed to reduce one of the greatest Jokers we’ve ever seen to a shadow of his former self.” For that reason alone, it would be pretty shocking if it received anything less than a slew of Razzie wins this year.
It’s almost ironic to think that the role that once brought Phoenix praise and recognition from critics could now potentially lead to a Worst Actor award. Yet, here we are in 2025, eagerly awaiting the results of this year’s Razzies.
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Tell us, do you think Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in Joker: Folie à Deux should earn him the Razzie Award for Worst Actor of 2025?
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