Movies

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ flops at the box office, with brutal audience reviews

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'Joker: Folie à Deux' flops at the box office, with brutal audience reviews

As someone who has been following the rise and fall of blockbuster movies for decades, I must say that the underperformance of “Joker: Folie à Deux” is quite disheartening. The original Joker movie was a game-changer, a masterpiece that left us on the edge of our seats. But this sequel, while boasting an impressive cast and a unique concept, seems to have missed the mark for me.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” is a box office dud.

This weekend, Warner Bros. Pictures’ comic book sequel earned the top spot domestically, taking in approximately $40 million as per studio reports. However, these earnings were relatively low compared to previous performances.

Instead of achieving the same level of triumph as its Academy Award-winning forerunner that grossed $96.2 million upon release in 2019, setting a new October box office record in the U.S. and Canada, this much-hyped movie did not live up to expectations.

In a surprising turn of events, the second chapter in Todd Phillips’ “Joker” series, featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, failed to meet expectations set by analysts. They had predicted that this comic book adaptation would open within the range of $50 million to $65 million domestically.

In comparison to its previous version, the latest “Joker” movie came with a hefty price tag, estimated at over $190 million prior to marketing expenses. Contrastingly, the initial one was produced for only $55 million.

The film was predicted to underperform compared to its initial success, as it earned just $7 million during its Thursday preview screenings. To give you an idea, “Joker” made $13.3 million during its Thursday preview showings.

In the movie “Joker: Folie à Deux,” the lead character Arthur Fleck, played by Phoenix, takes on the role of the Joker. Harley Quinn, portrayed by Lady Gaga, plays his love interest and partner-in-crime, Harleen Francis Quinzel. The supporting cast includes Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and returning actor Zazie Beetz.

Instead of the initial movie, which earned praise from critics and was nominated for 11 Oscars, the sequel “Joker: Folie à Deux” has faced harsh criticism. On the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, it received a disappointing 34% rating, while CinemaScore’s audience poll gave it a poor “D” grade.

As a passionate film enthusiast, I’d like to point out an intriguing difference between “Folie à Deux” and its predecessor, “Joker”: It’s a musical. To put it more elegantly, as director Todd Phillips himself phrased it, “it’s a movie where music is not just a backdrop, but a fundamental part of the story.

In Michael Ordoña’s article for the L.A. Times, he notes that there are 11 tracks on the soundtrack album, but more songs are featured in the movie itself. Some of these songs are played in their entirety while others are used as fragments. Occasionally, the number of songs serves a storyline purpose, but at other times it does not play a significant role in the narrative.

The musicians are eager, but the frequent musical interludes test our tolerance. These interruptions tend to disrupt the flow, and there’s not a lot of momentum to start with. Moreover, there’s no hint of a suspenseful plot twist or intricate plan that either Arthur [Phoenix] or Lee [Gaga] might devise. This absence of clever planning serves as a stark reminder that this production is far from the level of ‘Joker.’

Upcoming movie releases next weekend include “Terrifier 3” from Cineverse Corp., an expansion of “Saturday Night” by Sony Pictures, “Piece by Piece” from Focus Features, “We Live in Time” from A24, and “My Hero Academia: You’re Next” from Toho International.

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2024-10-06 19:01

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