On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 30 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads: ""Joe Versus the Volcano" erupts with plenty of screwball energy and thoughtful observations about living to the fullest, but its existential ambition may prove too goofy for some audiences." At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "C+" on scale of A to F.