'Joker 2' Has a Disappointing Opening Weekend

The original Joker movie was a surprise hit in 2019 when it resonated with the demographic that appreciated its graphic violence and dark tone. That same demographic was apparently not intrigued by the curious choice of making the sequel a musical featuring Lady Gaga. Worse, critics were not particularly impressed with its quality even within the musical context. As a result, the sequel had a disappointing debut and is likely to be a money-loser for its studio. Read on for details.

Via Variety.

“Joker: Folie à Deux,” a genre-bending sequel to the billion-dollar comic book smash, hit a sour note at the box office even as it opened to No. 1 with $40 million.

Those discordant domestic ticket sales were behind initial projections of $50 million to $65 million — a range that was already revised down in the subsequent weeks since “Joker 2” landed on pre-release tracking with $70 million. Opening weekend revenues were significantly lower than its predecessor, 2019’s “Joker,” which set an October record with a stellar $96.2 million during the same weekend a half a decade ago. As for “Folie à Deux,” this start is disastrous for Warner Bros. considering the blockbuster success of the original and the reality that poor word-of-mouth will likely doom its big-screen staying power. That’s a problem because the R-rated sequel carries a substantial $200 million price tag (the first film was produced for a trim $65 million). So, “Folie à Deux” needs to generate at least $450 million to break even, according to sources familiar with the film’s financials.

“When you greenlight a sequel, you hope it does the business that the previous one did,” says analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations. “This is definitely a concern. Warners wanted the sequel and probably overspent to get it to happen.”

“Joker” was supposed to be a standalone film. But the R-rated tentpole became one of the most profitable comic book movies ever and earned Phoenix an Oscar, and, well, this is Hollywood after all. Warner Bros. mitigated risk on “Joker” by co-financing and producing the unconventional take on a superhero film with Bron Creative and Village Roadshow, with whom the studio also had to split revenues. Warners only has one co-financier, Domain, on this one.

The original “Joker” became an unexpected hit with $335 million domestically and $743 million internationally, standing as the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history at the time. (“Deadpool & Wolverine” supplanted that record over the summer with $1.32 billion). Yet it could become a challenge for the follow-up film to reach its breakeven point because critics and audiences haven’t liked the film. It received a 33% “rotten” rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a “D” CinemaScore from moviegoers. Muted buzz for “Folie à Deux” began at Venice Film Festival, where “Joker” took home the fest’s top prize in 2019. Yet critics and festival attendees weren’t as enthusiastic about the sequel, leading to weeks of “meh” reviews before general audiences saw the movie.

Get the rest of the story at Variety.