The Only Big Budget Movie in 2024 That Makes Joker: Folie à Deux Look Like a Box Office Success – Adam Driver’s Last Few Movies Haven’t Helped His Star Power in Hollywood

SUMMARY

• Joker: Folie à Deux hasn't done too well at the box office two weeks after it's release but Megalopolis still managed to generate numbers worse than Todd Phillips' sequel.
• Francis Ford Coppola and Adam Driver's Megalopolis has barely crossed $10 million globally despite having a $120 million budget.
• Phillips latest Joker film might also struggle to break even with the numbers it has generated so far.

The Joker movie that came out back in 2019 was a perfect blend of the emotional yet psychotic life of Arthur Fleck. The storyline pretty much displayed Fleck’s unfortunate upbringing and the struggles he faced as an adult, leading him to become the attention-seeking criminal mastermind who wanted to seek revenge on the entire world. And to no surprise, Todd Phillips managed to pull in over a billion dollars at the box office. 

Joaquin Phoenix in Joker | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

Having had so much success in its first installment, Phillips’ sequel was a major letdown to fans all over the world and it doesn’t seem like Joker: Folie à Deux will generate as much revenue as the first movie. But it’s safe to say that the movie gods are on the Joker’s side considering that there’s actually a film that’s done worse than Phillips’ release. 

Adam Driver’s Megalopolis makes Joker: Folie à Deux look like a box office hit

Joker: Folie à Deux was intended to be a musical, but fans had a ton of complaints giving it a terrible rating of 33% on Rotten Tomatoes and 5.3/10 on IMDb, which is a massive letdown in comparison to the pilot film. 

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in Joker: Folie à Deux | Credits: Warner Bros

However, there’s another film that was released this year that makes Joaquin Phoenix’s project look like a box office hit. We’re talking about Adam Driver and Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. Considering that Coppola directed the movie, you’d expect it to have great reviews while generating millions at the box office, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. 

It’s almost a month since the Megalopolis hit the silver screens, and Coppola invested $120 million of his own money to work on this project. Unfortunately, it attracted a poor 46% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 5/10 on IMDb while only generating just over $10 million at the box office. 

Francis Ford Coppola, who has directed blockbusters like The Godfather and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, literally had to sell his family-run winery to meet the movie’s budget, going as far as saying that his children didn’t need a fortune to live (via Independent). 

Megalopolis went through a ton of changes over four decades only for Coppola to deliver a movie that didn’t impress its audience at all. Here’s what fans had to say regarding the movie on social media:

From ‘Megalopolis’ to ‘Mega-flop’? 😬💸 Someone’s gonna have some serious explaining to do…

No shock there the film looked horrible from the trailers

So Joker: Folie à Deux isn’t necessarily the worst movie release of 2024. Megalopolis, despite the star-studded cast featuring Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Shia LaBeouf, Aubrey Plaza, and Dustin Hoffman didn’t really tickle anybody’s theatrical taste buds. 

What’s worse is watching Driver’s career decline over the last couple of years. His last few movies have barely received any recognition, while White Noise grossed a tragic $71,728 at the box office despite costing millions to make (via Box Office Mojo).

Why is Joker: Folie à Deux a bad movie? 

There was a ton of hype for Joaquin Phoenix’s return as Arthur Fleck but the bad reviews arrived long before its release. During an early screening of the film, sources revealed that critics nearly fell asleep while watching it. 

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux | Credits: Warner Bros.

While you’d expect the movie to contain a ton of action sequences and some psychotic scenes similar to when Fleck murdered Randall Kleinmanhoffer in the first movie, Joker: Folie à Deux was a much more tame musical. 

It’s been just over two weeks since its release and the movie that cost over $300 million to produce and distribute only grossed an underwhelming $51.5 million domestically, and just over $165 million worldwide (via Variety). Still somehow better than what Megalopolis has done in a month!

The first Joker movie nearly hit $100 million domestically within three days of its release while grossing well over $200 million globally as well. Joker: Folie à Deux isn’t expected to have a long theatrical run as Pop Base recently announced that the movie will soon be added to streaming platforms. 

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ will be released to digital platforms on October 29. pic.twitter.com/dLMTTtS4Mr

This could be a desperate attempt by Warner Bros to help save the franchise from tanking terribly. Either there was very little violence than what’s expected out of a Joker film or Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix’s musical performances simply overpowered the entire story. Only the universe knows what went wrong.

Written by Rakibul John Rodgers

Articles Published: 93

Rakib is a writer at Fandomwire. He loves to delve into the worlds of horror, mystery, and pop culture. With a keen interest in sports, particularly basketball and MMA, he stays up-to-date on the latest developments. Outside of writing, Rakib values time with loved ones and finds solace in music, his first love.