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Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix will never hear the end of fans whining about how underwhelming Joker: Folie à Deux was. Having achieved so much with the initial release in 2019, Phillips probably thought he could get away with adding an unusual and unexpected twist to the sequel. But things simply haven’t worked out in his favor this time.
Joaquin Phoenix in a still from Joker: Folie á Deux | Credits: Warner Bros. It has been just over two weeks since the movie’s release, and the fact that the Joker’s story was transformed into a musical has backfired big time! Things are getting so out of hand that Warner Bros. is about to add the movie to streaming platforms to alleviate the damage that it might endure during its theatrical run. But what’s worse is other small-budget films are doing far better than Joker: Folie à Deux.
Joker: Folie à Deux gets embarrassed by Naomi Scott’s Smile 2 in terms of rating
Lady Gaga will play Harleen Quinzel aka Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux | Credits: Warner Bros.The first Joker movie did exceptionally well at the box office during its theatrical run earning nearly $100 million midway through its release week and eventually crossing over a billion at the box office, which was a massive surprise to Todd Phillips and the entire world.
Considering how well the first movie did, you can’t blame fans for expecting the sequel to be a hit. But the movie was far from what people expected it to be. Rather than seeing Arthur Fleck engage in some psychotic murders, we witnessed Joaquin Phoenix’s character get rag-dolled by his inmates and the police while being belittled by Lady Gaga’s Harleen Quinzel.
According to Variety, Joker: Folie à Deux was budgeted around $300 million, however, it would need to make at least $375 million to break even according to Warner Bros. Right now, the movie has only made just above $165 million and things seem to be moving extremely slow as well.
What’s upsetting is a smaller-budget movie like Smile 2 is already projected to make more than its budget during opening week. The Paramount sequel starring Naomi Scott is reportedly expected to make over $20 million in it’s first week (via Deadline) and this could improve over time.
While Joker: Folie à Deux has earned a significantly higher amount financially, Smile 2 dwarfs Phillips sequel with a 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Phillips and his gang received an upsetting 32% rating from critics.
Joker: Folie à Deux is on the verge of losing big money!
A still from Joker: Folie à Deux | Credits: Warner Bros.The 2024 Joker film’s run has been disastrous so far. It has been announced that the movie will be available to stream on various platforms starting October 29, 2024, which is barely a month since its release. Well, you have to do whatever it takes to avoid the “flop” tagline, right?
Based on the numbers provided by Variety, Joker: Folie à Deux won’t earn as much as it needs to break even by the end of its theatrical run. Variety estimates the film to lose between $150 million and $200 million.
Warner Bros. also commented on various sources speaking of its poor performance. A spokesperson said,
Any estimates suggested by anonymous ‘insiders’ or ‘rival executives’ are grossly wrong and continue a trend where rumor is reported as fact. The film continues to play in theatrical release, included with this week’s opening in China, and will continue to earn revenue throughout its home viewing and ancillary run.
Phillips is certainly to blame in this case since making it into a musical completely isolates its original fanbase that prefers to watch Joker get his hands dirty. For all we know, the film could’ve been a musical but Phillips handled the script terribly.
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