Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie a Deux was expected to surpass the box office records set by its predecessor, but its unique musical format did not capture the audience’s interest. The first film, released in 2019, earned actor Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar and became the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. According to Hollywood Reporter, the concept for the sequel came from Phoenix, who saw it in a dream and later, passed the idea to the director. Philips discussed the concept with producer Toby Emmerich and the project was good to go, until the audience rejected the movie after its release. Reportedly, the sequel struggled during its opening weekend, as it managed to earn just $37 million at the domestic box office.
Earlier, as per Mind Food, while attending the Joker 2 screening at the Venice Film Festival, Phoenix, during the press conference had said, “I had this dream that I was performing as Joker doing songs and I just called Todd because I thought there might be something there.”
Sources close to the production indicated that the primary audience was Joaquin Phoenix himself and believe that Joker 2 “is a very expensive art film.” The insider added that initially, both the director and actor weren’t sure about moving forward with a sequel. At one point, they even played with the idea to create a Broadway show, inspired by the DC film. However, they later decided to make the film and brought Lady Gaga, to play the iconic comic book figure Harley Quinn.
After the disappointing response for Joker: Folie a Deux, Todd Phillips spent some time alone at his ranch. People involved with the film described the situation as a total disaster, claiming that the audience completely rejected the movie. One source added that there were discussions about who would take responsibility for the failure. Meanwhile, a veteran producer stated that while the film did not succeed, it was still the right decision to make it.
Joker: Folie a Deux has become the fifth DC movie to struggle at the box office in recent years, following Black Adam, Shazam 2, The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. According to Hollywood Reporter, other superhero films, such as The Flash had a stronger debut with $55 million, while Marvel Studios’ The Marvels earned $46.1 million and Morbius opened with $39 million.
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