The amount of money Joker: Folie à Deux is generating in ticket sales, which is considerably less than expected, is just one indicator of its failure at the box office. Since its release, many have compared its performance to the original film, and its drop in the second week only adds to the fiasco. Now, it’s time to assess the extent of the damage: How much will Warner Bros. lose?
Context. At the end of its second week, Joker: Folie à Deux had grossed $165.3 million. Specifically, it grossed $7 million domestically and $22.7 million globally during the weekend, which represents a drop of 82% and 70.5%, respectively. As such, this is one of the worst performances in the history of superhero movies, even surpassing The Marvels (78.1%) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (69.9%), two box-office flops that also saw a big drop in ticket sales in their second weeks.
Joker 2 reportedly cost about $200 million in production and $100 million in marketing. This means Warner Bros. needs to earn about $375-400 million to make a profit.
Doomed for a lifetime. It’s important to note that Joker 2 isn’t one of those films that, despite not doing well in theaters, can then find success on streaming platforms. If that was the case, producers could go and sell it at a good price. Additionally, despite being a sequel, it’s not part of a popular franchise, something other releases that recently failed, such as Borderlands and The Crow, will probably benefit from.
Joker: Folie à Deux has a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a rare “D” rating on CinemaScore, which will make it difficult for the movie to succeed in the future. Its fate is sealed beyond its box office performance.
How much will Joker 2 lose? According to estimates from the production company reported by Variety, the film is expected to incur losses ranging from $125 million to $200 million. However, Warner Bros. is going into damage control mode and said in a recent statement, “The film continues to play in theatrical release, included with this week’s opening in China, and will continue to earn revenue throughout its home viewing and ancillary run.”
Available to rent beginning on Oct. 29. In an effort to address the bad press following the box office drop during its second weekend, Warner Bros. announced that the film will be available to rent on platforms starting Oct 29, just a month after its release.
It’s also important to note that the studio collaborated with production company Domain to produce the film, and it’s now expected to help offset the losses.
James Gunn doesn’t like what he’s seeing. Joker: Folie à Deux’s failure goes beyond its repercussions for Warner Bros.’ finances. More importantly, it could damage the overall image of the DC brand. It seems that fans of the first movie aren’t happy about the idea of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker being part of the DC Cinematic Universe. At the same time, DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are probably a bit concerned about the film’s bad press.
Joker 2 is on its own.
Image | Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros.
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