The Hollywood Reporter has published an in-depth analysis of where things went wrong for Joker: Folie à Deux, detailing the movie's conception and who might be to blame for its failings.
Under pressure from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy - the co-heads of Warner Bros. Pictures - decided to give a Joker sequel the green light. Toby Emmerich had already got the ball rolling, and filmmaker Todd Phillips and lead star Joaquin Phoenix quickly nabbed themselves $20 million paydays.
As for Lady Gaga, she negotiated a deal which saw her paid $12 million to play a new version of Harley Quinn.
Unsurprisingly, De Luca and Abdy "were left reeling" (as was everyone at the studio) after Joker: Folie à Deux's disastrous $37.8 million opening weekend. As for Phillips, he's gone into hiding, "[spending] the weekend in seclusion on a ranch property he owns."
One source close to the movie calls its debut "[a] complete audience rejection," and it seems Phillips may end up taking the lion's share of the blame. As the trade explains, he was "given an extraordinary level of autonomy and final cut."
That meant no test screenings and while insiders argue it was a mutual decision between Phillips and Warner Bros. to preserve spoilers, the trade scoffs at that (after all, spoilers were prevalent online for a month following Joker: Folie à Deux's Venice Film Festival premiere).
It's also been confirmed that no DC executives were involved with the movie; that includes DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, as well as former DC Films President Walter Hamada who was an executive producer on Joker. Gunn didn't see the movie until De Luca and Abdy, likely just as a courtesy.
Here's where things get really weird, though. While it's true that Phillips and Phoenix considered taking Joker to Broadway, "The idea for the sequel came to Phoenix in a dream, and he and Phillips brought the idea to Emmerich, according to sources."
Comic book fans and regular moviegoers alike have rejected the Joker sequel and it seems neither group was the intended audience. After one insider was asked who the movie was made for, they responded with two words: "For Joaquin."
Joker: Folie À Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that's always been inside him.
The sequel stars Joaquin Phoenix once again in his Oscar-winning dual role as Arthur Fleck/Joker, opposite Oscar-winner Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born). The movie also features Oscar nominees Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Catherine Keener (Get Out), alongside Zazie Beetz, reprising her role from Joker.
Joker: Folie À Deux is now playing in theaters.