The Box Office Numbers Between Joker and Joker: Folie à Deux Raise the Question: Was He a Strong Enough Character to Justify a Saga?

Time will tell if Joker: Folie á Deux is a resounding failure. Its opening weekend numbers point to a significant disappointment, especially considering the overwhelming success of the first installment. As a reminder, Joker was the highest-grossing R-rated film in history until the arrival of Deadpool & Wolverine, and the first film with that rating to cross the $1 billion mark.

Number 1, but without the shine. Curiously, the movie topped the international box office, making $81.1 million in its first weekend. In the U.S., it grossed $40 million, slightly below expectations of $50 million, which critics found disappointing. These aren’t bad numbers by any means, but the movie from director Todd Phillips has a tough challenge ahead of it: turning a profit on a massive $200 million budget. The disappointment becomes even more apparent when you compare it to the budget for the first film: only $65 million. The sequel would have to make $450 million to break even.

Bad press. The movie hasn’t been so well received among critics and audiences. That’s an abysmal difference compared to the first installment which didn’t convince 100% of the critics but triumphantly passed through the Oscars that year. Cinemascore, the influential research company that establishes grades based on surveys and box office appeal, gave it a deficient D. Notably the first movie got a B+, placing Folie à Deux far below films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Flash, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which also got a B. During the time that Cinemascore has been active, there are only 36 films that have received lower grades than Philipps’ sequel. To be fair, there are films of varying quality as well as victims of unfair rejection at the time on the list.

Bad grades. Rarely has a superhero movie had such a disappointing reception. Other examples include some Marvel movies like The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which had their fair share of hate from the start. By the way, the box office numbers for Joker 2 are also below some of the movies considered failures today, which forced the studios behind them to rethink their strategies. The Marvels grossed $46 million in its first weekend in the U.S., and The Flash made $55 million. This disappointing reception is also visible on Rotten Tomatoes, where the movie has shallow scores: 33% from critics and 31% from users.

What if Joker isn’t the best character for a saga? It’s inevitable to wonder what happened this time when several elements that seemed more or less infallible came together in the sequel. We have Phillips (who, in addition to directing Joker, was also responsible for the legendary blockbuster The Hangover), Joaquin Phoenix (with an Oscar under his arm for his performance in the first installment), and Lady Gaga (an artist of not only of great critical prestige but also the star of numerous successful films). So, why was the movie a disappointment?

The curse of the musical. As I said after watching the movie, Warner Bros. was ambivalent about the film being a musical. Gaga herself dodged the definition, though Joker: Folie á Deux is, obviously and beyond any other question, a musical. But apart from its quality and its songs, the truth is that it’s a style that generates some rejection, especially among the film’s target audience. Fans of the first installment are against the change in the genre.

Going backwards. According to The Hollywood Reporter, many fans have also expressed some displeasure at how this sequel seems to retreat from the essence of the first installment, which portrayed the Joker as a true virus capable of shaking the foundations of society. Without getting into spoilers, a speech by the protagonist in the last third of the movie (and all that it triggers) is completely the opposite of the fake Facebook meme generator created by the first Joker. Overall, Joker: Folie á Deux contradicts Joker just as its musical nature seems to contradict the realistically tinged urban nightmare approach of the first film.

Image | Warner Bros.

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