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- Joker: Folie à Deux Is an Anti-Audience Sequel That Doesn’t Appeal to Anyone
- Joker: Folie à Deux Is the Worst-Rated Comic Book Movie of All time
- Joker: Folie à Deux Arrived Too Late After Joker
As a film enthusiast who has been following the comic book movie genre for over three decades, I must say that the release of Joker: Folie à Deux feels like a missed opportunity wrapped in a disappointing package.
As I eagerly awaited the premiere of Joker: Folie à Deux, the enthralling follow-up to the mesmerizing 2019 blockbuster Joker at the Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2024, a month before its grand cinematic debut, I couldn’t help but feel a thrill of anticipation. The box-office predictions painted an optimistic picture, with the sequel potentially earning over $100 million in its opening domestic weekend, and some estimates even reaching as high as $140 million. If such lofty heights were to be achieved, Joker: Folie à Deux would have effortlessly shattered the October release record previously held by the original film, which had a staggering $96.2 million domestic opening weekend. This box-office success could have propelled it to become the first R-rated film to surpass the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office. Moreover, it would have been a strong contender for 11 Academy Award nominations. As a movie enthusiast, I couldn’t wait to witness this captivating tale unfold on the silver screen!
Initially, it was anticipated that “Joker 2” would earn more at the box office upon its theatrical release, but estimates dropped significantly to around $60 million. The film’s debut at Venice Film Festival received lukewarm responses, leading to unfavorable critical reviews and a record-low audience rating. Consequently, the sequel managed to gross approximately $37.7 million in its first weekend of domestic release.
Despite the $37.7 million earnings for Joker 2 in its debut domestic box office, falling short of the $77 million it earned internationally, it managed to take the first place. However, this opening was a significant disappointment considering the sequel’s massive $200 million production budget.
In its present downward trend, it seems highly improbable that Joker 2 will match or surpass the $96.2 million opening weekend earnings of the original Joker for the entire duration of its domestic release. Additionally, given that Joker holds the title as the most financially successful comic-book movie ever made due to its reasonable budget of $70 million, the costly sequel appears primed to be one of the biggest financial flops in recent Hollywood cinema.
Joker: Folie à Deux Is an Anti-Audience Sequel That Doesn’t Appeal to Anyone
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Just as the poor performance at the box office for “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” showed Warner Bros., the studio responsible for “Joker 2”, that viewers had no interest in a Mad Max spin-off movie, so too does the underperformance of the sequel make it abundantly clear to the studio that fans of The Joker don’t want a musical follow-up.
By employing a misleading advertising strategy that downplayed the musical aspect of it, Joker 2 seemed to disappoint and enrage audiences, as the marketing campaign showcased scenes not present in the movie, leading viewers to anticipate a cinematic experience that the sequel ultimately failed to meet.
In a departure from what was suggested by its creators Todd Phillips, Joaquin Phoenix, and Lady Gaga, who stated that the sequel isn’t a musical, it appears that Joker: Folie à Deux may not have been intended for any specific audience. Certainly, fans of the original film would seem to be the target demographic. However, the slow-paced and somber sequel seems to express disdain towards viewers who had invested emotionally in Joaquin Phoenix’s character, Arthur Fleck, and his villainous transformation, as it subjects Arthur (and by extension, Joker fans) to a trial-like experience through tedious courtroom scenes. These scenes seem to drain the sequel of its energy.
The outcome is an unusual sequel that appears to disdain its primary viewers just as much as it does itself. As retribution for adopting the frenzied spirit of the precursor film, viewers find themselves immersed in a confined, sluggish sequel, where Arthur, like the audience, is reduced to a passive, powerless observer.
Joker: Folie à Deux Is the Worst-Rated Comic Book Movie of All time
Despite receiving mixed reactions upon its debut and sparking intense debate among viewers, the passionate discussions surrounding “Joker” fueled its success at the box office. This film, particularly recognized for Joaquin Phoenix’s exceptional portrayal of the title character, which earned him a well-deserved Best Actor Oscar, has left a lasting impression on the public, deeply embedding itself in popular culture.
Instead of saying that, we could express it like this: Contrary to expectations, the public and critics have largely panned “Joker 2,” with ratings on Rotten Tomatoes standing at a dismal 33% from critics and 31% from audiences. This negative response is mirrored in the movie’s D Cinemascore rating, an unusually low grade for a big-studio comic book film. In fact, this exceptionally poor evaluation suggests that the audience has overwhelmingly rejected the sequel, with many respondents advising their loved ones to avoid seeing “Joker 2” as if it were cursed.
Joker: Folie à Deux Arrived Too Late After Joker
In 2019, the year that “Joker” came out, comic book movies were enjoying immense popularity. During this time, films like “Aquaman,” released in 2018, and “Captain Marvel,” released in 2019, each surpassed the $1 billion mark at the global box office. Interestingly, the first “Venom” movie, which was also released in 2018, managed to earn over $850 million at the worldwide box office despite receiving critically unfavorable reviews.
The sequel to “Joker” would have gained significantly more from the influence of the original film if it had been released a few years earlier, say in 2022, when the first “Joker” was still seen as a cultural sensation.
Over the past five years, the comic book movie universe has undergone significant transformations, particularly in audience perceptions of these films compared to 2019. Unlike the flourishing era from 2018 to 2019, the comic-book genre has been marked by a series of box office flops recently, as evidenced by the 2023 release of The Marvels, the latest installment in the Captain Marvel series, which earned the least among all films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Regardless of how well Joker 2 might have appealed to fans, its commercial potential was likely limited due to several factors. For one, the production cost for the sequel was significantly high, but it didn’t seem to be reflected in terms of extensive CGI or impressive stunts on screen. Given these circumstances, it’s plausible that Joker 2 was always heading towards a disappointing box office performance, even if it had matched the quality of the original movie. Currently, the sequel titled Joker: Folie à Deux is running in cinemas.
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2024-10-12 02:05