Just a few months after the Oscar-winning movie, Joker, came the sequel for this comic book adaptation. Unfortunately, Joker: Folie à Deux was unable to live up to its great expectation at the box office. Considering its highly anticipatory environment, it could not reach the incredible heights of its predecessor.
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| Joaquin Phoenix, left, and Lady Gaga in a scene from "Joker: Folie à Deux." |
Box Office Failure Joker Folie à Deux
In the next installment of profitability, Joker: Folie à Deux has been opened to a dull $40 million domestically; the original film had opened back in 2019 to $96.2 million, which would break the October box office record in both the U.S. and Canada. This was supposed to open between $50 million and $65 million in the domestic market but is far from those projections.
Increased Production Costs Joker Folie à Deux
Indeed, one of the major issues about the movie is the steep budget in production. Accounts claim that the film Joker: Folie à Deux costs at least $190 million for producing costs, without adding marketing costs. The original Joker had a budget only of just $55 million, so the budget for this proved very pricey.
The gap between Preview and International Box Office Earnings
The film managed to bring in only $7 million out of Thursday previews, which marks a significant downturn from the $13.3 million of the previous one on its opening day. It was relatively more successful on the international platform, where it raked in $81.1 million, thus bringing worldwide opening weekend figures to $121.1 million. Such international success would only partially offset the loss faced in the domestic market but far less than projected by the industry.
Critical Reception and Audience Reaction Joker Folie à Deux
Unlike the critically acclaimed first installment, Joker: Folie à Deux has received some harsh criticisms. The movie has a very mediocre score at 34% from Rotten Tomatoes and received a pathetic "D" from CinemaScore among audiences. On the other hand, the original Joker was more celebrated for the engaging storyline, to the extent that it earned 11 Oscar nominations.
Music and audience misconnection Joker Folie à Deux
Another significant deviation from the original of Joker: Folie à Deux is the musical format. Director Todd Phillips did something refreshing - he introduced music into the movie, and 11 songs appear on the soundtrack. Some of the critics liked this bold move, but many audiences pointed out that the breaks were annoying, created pauses during the movie, disrupting its rhythm. Often, Michael Ordoña, who reviews movies for the L.A. Times, said, these interludes of singing by the hero lacked a purpose and slowed the story down.
Joker Folie à DeuxF uture Competition in the Box Office
With Joker: Folie à Deux unable to find its footing, next weekend could add another round of new movies to the fray with Terrifier 3 at Cineverse Corp., Sony Pictures' Saturday Night, Focus Features' Piece by Piece, A24's We Live in Time, and Toho International's My Hero Academia: You're Next. This may add yet another layer that makes the climb to holding on top of the box office even harder for Joker: Folie à Deux.
As Joker: Folie à Deux was made with a lot of expectations, though it could never succeed where its predecessor did in the critical and economic front. It is rare to add musical content to a film, but now, pacing, high budget and lukewarm reception added to the box office underperformance.