As a film enthusiast with over three decades of movie-watching under my belt, I must say that Joker: Folie à Deux is a disappointment that leaves a bitter taste. I remember the hype surrounding its predecessor back in 2019, and it’s disheartening to see how far this sequel has fallen short. The film’s box office performance, critical reception, and audience score are all indicators of a movie that missed the mark by a mile.
The sequel to Joker titled “Joker: Folie à Deux” will go down in history, yet not the kind of record one might eagerly boast about. Warner Bros. spared no expense for the production of “Joker: Folie à Deux“, providing director Todd Phillips with an open checkbook and even releasing it on the same day, five years after its prequel. While the 2019 film stirred up controversy, it was still a massive box office success with a dedicated fanbase. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for “Joker: Folie à Deux“, which achieved a rare and awkward triple failure at the box office.
In contrast to expectations, “Joker: Folie à Deux” debuted at the top of the box office but fell significantly short, earning approximately $40 million to $56 million less than its predecessor’s opening weekend gross of $96 million in 2019. Critics have been particularly harsh, giving it a 33% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the more mixed-to-positive 68% received by the original film. Remarkably, both critics and audiences seem to disapprove of “Joker: Folie à Deux” to a similar extent. The audience score for the sequel is just 31%, a stark decrease from the first film’s impressive 89%.
Initially, cinema-goers on opening night assigned a D grade to the film “Joker: Folie à Deux”, making it the lowest rating for a comic book adaptation. This score is even lower than 2019’s “Joker” which earned a B+, and it falls below the ratings given to critically disliked comic book films like the 2015 “Fantastic Four” (C) and the upcoming “Madame Web” (C+).
| Joker | Joker: Folie à Deux | |
| Opening Weekend | $96 million | $40 million |
| Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score | 68% | 33% |
| Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score | 89% | 31% |
| CinemaScore | B+ | D |
In contrast to expectations, the opening weekend earnings for “Joker: Folie à Deux” have been added to a growing list of underperforming films derived from DC Comics. Although it surpassed the openings of “Blue Beetle” ($25 million) and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” ($27 million), it fell short of the performance of “The Flash,” which was considered a significant letdown, earning $55 million. The sequels to DC’s successful films – “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” and now “Joker: Folie à Deux” – have underperformed at the box office and with audiences compared to their original, more popular counterparts.
The Joke Was on Warner Bros.
In early 2024, Warner Bros. believed they had a lineup of movies that could both be blockbuster successes and contenders for awards. The sequels to critically acclaimed films such as Dune: Part Two, Mad Max: Fury Road’s Furiosa, and Joker: Folie à Deux were expected to receive similar recognition. However, the outcome has been mixed. While Dune: Part Two was both a critical and commercial triumph, the other two films have faced disappointing results. Mad Max: Fury Road’s Furiosa received positive reviews, but was one of the biggest box office flops of the year. It seems that Joker: Folie à Deux will underperform significantly, given its poor reception. This indicates that it may bomb at the box office, as it has with both critics and audiences, and is unlikely to receive awards attention this year. Instead, Warner Bros. appears to be focusing their efforts on Dune: Part Two.
It is anticipated that Warner Bros (WB) could incur significant financial losses with the estimated budget of $190 to $200 million for “Joker: Folie à Deux”, given their recent string of DC Comics-based films that failed at the box office. However, there’s a lot of interest surrounding James Gunn’s upcoming “Superman” project, making it a potential game-changer for DC. Interestingly, this situation echoes the past, as in 2004, “Catwoman” was both critically panned and commercially unsuccessful, following other disappointing DC films like “Batman & Robin” and “Steel”. However, the following year brought us “Batman Begins”, which marked a significant turning point for DC. So, it remains to be seen if “Superman” will serve as DC’s equivalent of “Batman Begins”.
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2024-10-07 21:31