After effectively beingput out of misery this weekend by exhibitors— the movie lost over 1,600 theaters domestically —Joker: Folie à Deuxmanaged to crawl past its final global box office milestone. The movie doesn’t have much left in the tank andwill be made available on digital streaming platforms in a day or two. Its latest achievement is all but ornamental, considering its astronomical reported budget and toxic reviews. All things said and done,Joker: Folie à Deuxwill be studied for its disastrous performance, especially in relation to its predecessor.
Released in 2019, the firstJokerdefied expectations (and studio assumptions) by grossing over $330 million domestically and more than $1 billion worldwide. It remains one of the highest-grossing R-rated films in history, in addition to having truly become a cultural moment.Jokeralso won the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and earned starJoaquin Phoenixhis first Oscar.History most certainly didn’t repeat itself withJoker: Folie à Deux, which attempted to follow in its predecessor’s path, but came up drastically short.
Following a lukewarm premiere at Venice, the film tanked in its commercial debut and subsequently registered one of the worst second-weekend drop-offs in comic book movie history. It has grossed just $57 million domestically in nearly a month of release — the first film grossed $90 million in its opening weekend. In overseas markets,Joker: Folie à Deuxhas generated around $143 million, fora cumulative global haul of $201 million. The trouble is that the movie wasproduced ona reported budget of $200 million, which means that it’s nowhere near hitting its presumed break-even point, even as it stares death straight in the face.
‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Cost Nearly Four Times as Much as the First Film
Like the first film,Joker: Folie à Deuxwas directed byTodd Phillips, who introduced a musical angle to the narrative this time around. It proved to be unpalatable for the audience, which had broadly embraced the original film’s psychological thriller tone, and its homages to some ofMartin Scorsese’s classics. Just as cine-literate as the first film,Joker: Folie à Deuxreceived some praise for its technical achievements but was pretty muchburned at the stake by audiences. It earned an unprecedented (for a comic book movie of this scale) D CinemaScore from opening day crowds and appears to have settled at a “rotten” 32% score on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes.
Even the introduction of the globally renownedLady Gagaas the fan-favorite character Harley Quinn couldn’t move the needle for the movie, which also starsBrendan Gleeson,Catherine Keener, andHarry Lawtey. you may watch the film in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Joker: Folie à Deux explores Arthur Fleck’s ongoing struggle with his dual identity as he unexpectedly discovers love and unleashes his hidden musical talent. Set against a backdrop of societal unrest, Arthur’s journey intertwines personal transformation with chaotic encounters, leading to profound shifts in his life and the world around him.
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