Joker: Folie à Deux opened in theaters this weekend to overwhelmingly negative reviews and a dismal debut of $40 million, putting it in the same ballpark as Morbius.
Analysts will no doubt spend weeks trying to figure out where it all went wrong, as will Warner Bros. Discovery. One of the first major projects greenlit under the current leadership regime, the Joker sequel has proven to be a major misstep for the studio.
Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' President of Domestic Distribution, tells The Wall Street Journal, "The movie didn’t land with audiences the way we wanted it to." He'd later add that this movie was a "deeper dive into mental illness," arguing that some of its core male audience struggled to connect with Lady Gaga.
So, yes, the studio appears to be telling itself that Joker: Folie à Deux flopped because guys don't like serious dramas or women.
Interestingly, the site adds that the movie's $200 million budget doesn't include marketing costs, so Warner Bros. Discovery's losses on this thing are going to be massive. Despite that, The Wrap reveals, "Insiders at the studio say that while they’re disappointed with how the weekend has unfolded, they stand by the decision to give Phillips free rein to make the sequel that he wanted."
In other news, Entertainment Weekly has shared another excerpt from its interview with filmmaker Todd Phillips and asked why a scene with Lady Gaga kissing a female protestor outside the courthouse isn't in the final cut (we saw that play out in set photos).
"It had dialogue in it, and, all of a sudden, I wanted it to be more of a music and vibe moment," he explained. "For that moment to have played, it needed dialogue behind it. Meaning, the woman said something, and then Gaga stopped and did this thing, and it just kind of got in the way of the moment."
Other set photos and footage have pointed to Lady Gaga's Lee killing Arthur Fleck in an earlier cut, suggesting the final act might have undergone some significant changes.
In our review of the movie, we concluded by saying, "Lady Gaga shines and Joaquin Phoenix brings more of the same to Joker: Folie à Deux, a wholly unnecessary sequel with no new ideas and nothing to say. It doesn’t work as a movie or a musical. What a waste of $200 million."
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.