Furiosa & Joker 2 Just Joined An Oscars Club Only Two Other Sequels Are Part Of

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Joker: Folie à Deux have joined a rare Oscars club that only two other blockbuster sequels and franchise expansions are a part of. With the 97th Oscars set for March 2, 2025, both Furiosa and Joker 2 are notably not in contention for any Academy Awards despite being two of the most highly-anticipated films of 2024. Rather than being two of the biggest 2025 Oscar contenders, Furiosa and Joker 2 ended up being two of the biggest 2024 box-office flops.

Furiosa's underwhelming box office was more of a surprise than Joker 2's due to the latter's divisive critical reception. Earning a score of just 31% on Rotten Tomatoes in both critic and audience scores, Joker: Folie à Deux was a stunning disappointment considering its Oscar-winning 2019 predecessor, which earned Joaquin Phoenix his first Best Actor award. On the other hand, Furiosa was one of the highest-rated films of 2024, earning a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 90% and having nothing to show for it at the 2025 Oscars.

Furiosa & Joker 2 Both Failed To Get Any Oscar Nominations Despite Being Sequels To Movies With 10+ Nominations

Joker 2 Sunk The Todd Phillips Franchise While Furiosa Was Strong But Overlooked

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Joker: Folie à Deux are the latest members of an unfortunate yet exclusive Oscars club of unacknowledged sequels. Mad Max: Fury Road and Joker both earned over 10 Oscar nominations in their respective years, including Best Picture. Joker won two Academy Awards, while Fury Road won six, mostly in technical categories such as Production Design, Costume Design, and Film Editing. Given their success, the next installments of each franchise were also expected to be Oscar contenders, if not winners.

It's not mindblowing that a prequel like Furiosa – which notably did not feature Fury Road's leading duo of Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron – did not make the Oscars cut. Joker 2's lack of Oscar consideration was a surprise to nobody once the reviews and the film made its theatrical release. The full list of 2025 Oscar nominations tends to favor a shortlist of hand-selected films, such as Wicked, Emilia Pérez, and The Brutalist. Furiosa could have snuck in for categories such as Editing and Visual Effects but its underwhelming box office may have worked against it.

Only Two Other Movies Are Part Of Furiosa & Joker 2's Oscars Club

Rocky II & The Exorcist II Shared A Similar Oscars Fate

Before Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Joker: Folie à Deux, only two franchise sequels ever received 0 Oscar nominations after the prior film got 10+: Rocky II (1979)and Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). Rocky made history by becoming the first sports movie to win Best Picture, one of three to have ever done it, along with Chariots of Fire and Million Dollar Baby.

Both Rocky and The Exorcist's direct sequels live in the shadow of their Oscar-winning predecessors, and now Joker 2 and Furiosa are part of that unlucky group.

The Exorcist made history by becoming the first horror movie to receive a Best Picture nomination. Both Rocky and The Exorcist's direct sequels live in the shadow of their Oscar-winning predecessors, and now Joker 2 and Furiosa are part of that unlucky group.