Despite a collapse at the box office,Joker: Folie à Deuxjust crossed a major milestone worldwide. As the sequel to the divisive $1 billionJokermovie,Folie à Deuxhas received extremely negative reviewsand has become a severe financial disappointment. The movie reportedly has a $200 million budget, which far exceeds the original’s $65 million, and added Lady Gaga to the cast as Harley Quinn. It was released on October 4.
After three weeks,Joker 2has finally crossed the $200 million milestoneat the worldwide box office, according to a report byThe Numbers. The results are a disappointing total for the sequel, which has earned just$57.8 million domestically and $143.3 million internationally. Surprisingly, this news comes just days after it was announced that the movie would be available digitally on October 29. 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD copies will be available starting on December 17.
What The $200 Million Mark Means For Joker 2
Joker: Folie a Deux Will Not See Profitability
While the $200 million mark is an exciting prospect, the movie is never going to achieve profitability at the box office. Streaming and digital releases will lessen the bleeding somewhat, but a $200 million budget is simply too much to overcome for a movie that was this poorly received. Hollywood movies typically require a box office take of approximately twice the budget to see profit after marketing expenditures and theaters take their cuts. By that metric,the enormousJoker 2budgetwould meanit needs at least $400 million worldwide. The terrible reviews will not help it get there.
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Profitability is simply not going to happen. The movie’s availability in theaters has been steadily dropping and has already sunk from 4,000 available theaters to under 1,500. Poor reviews and atrocious word-of-mouth have been a major reason for its failure. The original movie was divisive, but critics and audiences were generally positive about the movie, earning fresh scores in each Rotten Tomatoes category. The sequel, however, has been near-universally reviled. The poor perception contributed to a general lack of interest in seeing the movie in theaters.
Our Take On Joker 2’s Failure
This Level Of Failure Did Not Have To Happen
It is always shocking to see a movie fail so blatantly. The original earned over $1 billion, and the follow-up is likely to only earn 20% of that. Unfortunately, narrative and structural choices are to blame. The decision to create a jukebox musical has proven to be a poor one, as it failed to please comic book audiences that have now pivoted toVenom: The Last Danceinstead.Joker: Folie à Deuxfailedbecause it did not attempt to placate its main audience and instead relied on unnecessary deviation from its core formula.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Cast
Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to Todd Phillips' critically acclaimed comic book thriller Joker. Reprising his Academy Award-winning performance as the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, Joaquin Phoenix revisits the iconic DC character alongside Lady Gaga, who makes her debut as Joker’s lover Harley Quinn in this standalone continuity of the DC Universe.
