As a seasoned cinephile who has witnessed the rise and fall of countless cinematic masterpieces, I must say that the opening weekend of “Joker: Folie à Deux” left me rather disheartened. Having eagerly anticipated this long-awaited sequel, I was initially hopeful that it would recapture the magic of its predecessor. Alas, Todd Phillips’ confounding creative choices have left the film with a mere $40 million domestically, a far cry from the $100 million predicted.
For some movies, $40 million could be a substantial profit, but it’s no joke for the upcoming film “Joker: Folie à Deux.” Initially, it was anticipated that this collaboration between Todd Phillips, Joaquin Phoenix, and Lady Gaga would rake in over $100 million during its opening weekend at the box office. However, due to a barrage of negative reviews from critics and concerns among fans about the film not living up to the original, there were worries. Now that Phillips’ creative choices have been met with confusion, “Folly à Deux” has only managed to gross $40 million domestically (according to The Numbers).
In terms of positive aspects from the debut of “Folie à Deux,” it’s worth noting that the movie fared better abroad. Internationally, “Joker 2” made over twice as much as its domestic earnings, raking in $81.1 million – pushing the sequel past the $100-million mark ($121.1 million) globally. However, with Phillips and Phoenix reuniting in Gotham City, the film faces a significant challenge given its $200 million production cost, not to mention additional expenses for advertising and marketing that aren’t accounted for in the budget.
Reflecting on the opening weekend of “Folie à Deux,” it’s clear that even the troubled box office performance of “The Flash” in 2023 surpassed it, managing a strong start with $55 million. And we all remember how that film’s story didn’t have a happy ending. So, if Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix had any hopes for “Joker 2” to match or even exceed the billion-dollar success of its predecessor, as suggested by its initial domestic opening of $96.2 million, this past weekend seems to have delivered a stark reminder of reality. Regrettably, it’s highly unlikely that “Folie à Deux” will replicate the original film’s billion-dollar achievement given its disappointing debut.
Joker: Folie à Deux Leads Weak October Opening Weekend
In the past week, “The Wild Robot,” last week’s top movie, slipped to second place with earnings of $18.7 million. Despite this, it didn’t generate enough buzz to compete for the number one spot at the box office. Directed by Chris Sanders, the animated adventure saw a 48% drop in ticket sales between its first and second weekends. With no other major releases, “The Wild Robot” easily won the weekend’s runner-up position. On the other hand, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” claimed the third spot, earning an additional $10.3 million and pushing its worldwide total to over $400 million.
In the fourth position, Transformers One earns $5.4 million, yet its highly praised 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter isn’t convincing a large audience to watch it in theaters. As of now, this film, starring Chris Hemsworth and featuring the origins of Optimus Prime (Orion Pax) and Megatron (D-16), hasn’t surpassed the $100-million mark globally, with earnings of $97 million.
Completing the Top 5 list of weekend earnings surprises is “Speak No Evil,” which raked in approximately $2.8 million. Remarkably, it only decreased by 34% from its previous week’s earnings, a testament to its enduring appeal since its digital debut last week. Starring James McAvoy, “Speak No Evil” has consistently been among the Top 5 since its theater release on September 13. This horror film is now Blumhouse’s highest-grossing movie of 2024, and with a global total of $67.4 million, it’s a reimagining of the 2022 horror flick that continues to captivate audiences worldwide.
In its initial weekend in theaters, Lionsgate’s movie titled “White Bird: A Wonder Story” opened at the sixth spot, earning $1.53 million. Meanwhile, “Deadpool & Wolverine” shifted to digital release, similar to “Speak No Evil“. Despite this transition, Deadpool managed to make another $1.52 million and hold the seventh position. On the other hand, GKIDS’ “Look Back” had the highest per-theater average in limited release (only 2 cinemas), with a remarkable $36,362 earnings this weekend.
Coming up next: The wide release of “Saturday Night” is set for October 11. It will be intriguing to observe how well “Joker: Folie à Deux” fares during its second weekend, given that only the “SNL” biographical drama will be debuting alongside the contentious DC movie. Furthermore, it was a challenging weekend for “Joker 2”, but maybe “Venom 3” can learn from the experiences of Todd Phillips’ film.
The projected box office earnings for “Venom: The Last Dance” are considerable. Yet, if the movie fails to handle Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) more sympathetically than “Folie à Deux” handled Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), Sony’s Spider-Man spin-off sequel might not rake in the estimated $80 million to $120 million.
Joker: Folie à Deux
is now playing in theaters.
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2024-10-07 00:02