EXCLUSIVELady Gaga in 'shock' at poor reaction to Joker 2 as insiders reveal how her team are scrambling to distract from the flop

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Lady Gaga is 'disappointed' at the immense flood of negative reactions to Joker: Folie à Deux, with the singer's team now keen to quickly push out other projects to help distract from the furor over the film, insiders claim.

Todd Phillips‘ sequel was officially released in theaters on October 4, but despite expectations, it bombed, raking in just under $40 million at the domestic box office, and receiving the lowest CinemaScore in comic book movie history.

Gaga, 38, is reportedly confused at the lack of love for her turn as Harleen Lee Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn, alongside Joaquin Phoenix, 49, as the Joker - a role that won him the best actor Oscar in 2019 - in the wake of the standing ovation it received at the Venice Film Festival last month.

'Gaga is surprised by the response to Joker 2 and is shocked that people don’t love it after the response it received from critics before it premiered,' a source exclusively told DailyMail.com. 

'She put so much heart into the movie and has so much respect for the DC comics fan base.'

Lady Gaga is 'disappointed' at the immense flood of negative reactions to Joker: Folie à Deux 

They added: 'Her team is quietly looking at other projects they can roll out as they want to move on this from as quickly as possible.'

But despite the lackluster reception from fans, a second source claimed she is not letting it deter her from returning to the big screen, with the singer said to be eyeing up a Quentin Tarantino movie.

'She is disappointed that Joker is pretty much a bomb,' they said. 

'She thought that this film could get her an Oscar nomination, especially since the first film was such a success and Joaquin won an Oscar.

'She would now like to land a role in Quentin Tarantino's next and final film. Nobody knows what that is going to be, but she wants to audition. 

'She's going to lobby hard to get a meeting with him once a script is presented, it is a bucket list moment for her to be involved.'

Tarantino was set to create The Movie Critic which would have been his tenth and final film, but on April 17, sources told The Hollywood Reporter that the project was canceled.

The famed director is now believed to be working up a new project to mark his final cinematic release.

The singer's team is now keen to push out other projects to help distract from the backlash, insiders have told DailyMail.com

Joker: Folie à Deux has flopped at the box office, with the psychological musical thriller also landing the lowest CinemaScore for a comic book movie

Gaga, real name is Stefani Germanotta, is hoping the Joker 2 flop will just be a small blip in her career, after the film received a D rating on CinemaScore — the lowest score for a comic book movie. 

Madame Web — which notably also flopped in theaters earlier this year and also received terrible reviews — holds the higher score of C+.

Joker notably opened with $96.2 million on its theater release in 2019 and eventually took a little over $1 billion in the global box office. 

The first movie - which was also directed by Phillips - had a budget of between $55 and $70 million. However, the budget more than doubled to around $200 million for Folie À Deux. 

The sequel screened during the Venice International Film Festival last month, where it earned a 12-minute standing ovation, per Deadline.   

It had been projected to bring in around $70 million - but the number drastically dropped amid mixed reviews before release. 

Audiences have since shared their opinions on the sequel, which features multiple musical sequences. 

'Joaquin Phoenix don't deserve this,' wrote one on X. 'What happened to the script?'

Another user added: 'Stop making sequels as musicals if the original wasn't a musical.' 

An insider told DailyMail.com: 'Gaga is surprised by the response to Joker 2 and is shocked that people don’t love it after the response it received from critics before it premiered'

'Joker downfall really needs to be studied,' shared a third, along with a monkey staring out a window. 

One fan branded it 'bad,' adding:' It was pretentious and dull. Has the aesthetic of an arthouse film without the substance.

'It also insults the audience's intelligence. the songs were also underwhelming too. They shouldn't have let this escape to theaters.' 

Another said: 'The audience that loved the first movie is not the same audience running to see musicals. This was a gigantic mistake from step 1.' 

Many social media users have also slammed the movie's final scene, which saw Phoenix's Arthur Fleck brutally stabbed to death by a fellow inmate who could in fact by the real Joker.

But others did jump in in defense of the film, with one hailing it 'amazing.'

'100% as divisive as people are making it out to be,' they continued. 'I love that the film didn’t try to be a traditional sequel, and fully committed to the storytelling they presented. It never deviated to be a film full of Easter eggs or any other crowd pleasing aspects.'

Another user said: 'I kinda loved Joker 2. I loved how it was structured as a meta-exploration of the first film’s fandom and the musical elements were a lot of fun.'

Another source explained: 'Gaga thought that this film could get her an Oscar nomination' (pictured director Todd Phillips, Gaga and Phoenix in September)

The insider explained: 'She would now like to land a role in Quentin Tarantino's next and final film'

One user claimed the film is 'getting universal hate despite being more interesting and creative than anything marvel has done in years is expected.'

'Joker 2 is genuinely such a clever movie which carries the character study format of the first movie into the second in a way which, surprisingly, will floor you by the end,' declared another. 'I'm astounded reception is this bad because this is SUCH a clever movie.'

A video of Gaga and Phoenix's awkward reaction to being asked if Folie à Deux was 'everything they expected' went viral amid the backlash.

For a few seconds, the two stars sat in silence as they both waited for the other to answer the question.

'Tell them how you feel, Joaquin,' Gaga said to her costar as she held out a fake microphone in front of him.

'It's so hard to talk about but I think we feel like we achieved what we set out to do,' he replied.