David Zaslav Shares Disappointed View on Joker: Folie a Deux’s Catastrophic Box Office

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As a film enthusiast who has spent countless hours immersed in the cinematic universe, I can’t help but feel a sense of melancholy when reflecting on the disappointing performance of “Joker: Folie à Deux.” Having watched the first installment and being captivated by Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Arthur Fleck, I had high expectations for this sequel.

Nearly everyone has expressed their opinions about the movie “Joker: Folie à Deux”, including filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino offering support for the film. The sequel to “Joker” sparked a divided reaction from critics and audiences, leading to its swift departure from cinemas and early availability on PVOD. Now, the executives at Warner Bros. are acknowledging their dissatisfaction with the movie’s underperformance financially as well.

During their latest earnings discussion, executives at Warner Bros. addressed a range of topics, and during this conversation, the upcoming film “Joker: Folie à Deux” was mentioned briefly. David Zaslav, the CEO, acknowledged that the sequel’s performance fell short of expectations and is expected to impact the studio’s results over the next quarter. In the call, he stated, “The inconsistency in our movie studio has been highlighted by the underwhelming results of Joker 2.

Under their new roles as heads of the motion picture group, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy initially approved the production of “Joker: Folie à Deux”, which was their first project in these positions. Considering that the 2019 version of “Joker” raked in over a billion dollars globally, became a significant contender during awards season, and even earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination and a win for Joaquin Phoenix in the Best Actor category, this project seemed like a promising venture at the time.

It is said that Zaslav had a meeting with director Todd Phillips not long after WarnerMedia and Discovery completed their merger in April 2022. The primary topic of discussion seemed to be finding cost-effective filming locations, as the budget for the movie had escalated to $200 million. Warner Bros. proposed shooting in London, a move that would decrease expenses by 20%, but Phillips favored Los Angeles instead. Ongoing disagreements between the studio and Phillips regarding the film’s release also surfaced, ranging from not wanting to showcase the movie at the Venice Film Festival to Phillips declining to screen test the Joker sequel before its premiere. It might have led to a more harmonious final product if there had been regular dialogue between the studio and the creative minds behind Joker: Folie à Deux.

Joker: Folie à Deux Was a Pricey Misfire

The budget for “Joker: Folie à Deux” was significantly higher than that of the first film, estimated at $200 million compared to $60-70 million. Despite its unique musical aspects and thought-provoking ending, the movie had numerous flaws that weakened its potential to earn enough revenue to recover costs. In the end, “Joker: Folie à Deux” turned out to be just another disappointing addition to Warner Bros.’ recent lineup of comic book movies.

When the masses saw the Joker sequel, titled “Joker: Folie à Deux,” its Rotten Tomatoes rating plummeted. Now at 33%, this dismal score reflects how audiences felt about the movie. The opening day audiences gave it a “D” CinemaScore, and by the end of its debut weekend, its domestic box office earnings were disappointing, totaling only $58.2 million. Its global gross was slightly better at $204.7 million, but even on Premium Video On Demand (PVOD), it didn’t receive a strong response. In other words, after just one month in theaters, “Joker: Folie à Deux” has largely disappeared from screens.

The film “Joker: Folie à Deux” is estimated to result in a loss of $150-$200 million for the studio, one of several expensive mistakes made over the past few years. Fortunately, they had “Dune: Part Two” and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” to help mitigate this, but it’s clear that Warner Bros.’ once promising future with superhero and comic book films has taken a significant hit in recent times. Now, everyone is looking towards James Gunn and Peter Safran to turn things around as the new co-CEOs of DC Studios.

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2024-11-08 02:33