Marvel and DC have each released only one comic book movie in 2024. Surprisingly, they were both R-Rated. However, the responses Deadpool & Wolverine and Joker: Folie à Deux received couldn't be any more different.
We'll start with the latest Marvel Studios movie because it's been announced today that the threequel has broken yet another record after making its in-home debut on October 1. Deadpool & Wolverine delivered the highest-selling week one ever for an R-rated film on domestic digital platforms.
Deadpool & Wolverine currently stands as the #2 movie of the year and the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all-time at the global box office, having earned more than $1.3B globally to date ($634 million domestic and $698 million international). Other notable milestones include:
- Ranks as the #13 highest-grossing domestic film of all-time.
- Stands as the #5 domestic, #10 international, and #7 global MCU film of all-time.
- Had the highest-grossing global opening for an R-rated film ever, surpassing 2016’s Deadpool.
With Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2, Disney has the top two movies of the year and back-to-back $1 billion hits, the only studio ever to release back-to-back $1 billion films in a given year.
As for the Joker sequel, it can only dream of $1 billion. Joker: Folie à Deux just finished its first full week at the North American box office with a mere $44.6 million.
That's 66% below the $137.7 million made by its predecessor in 2019 and it's likely to end its run domestically with around $65 million. Five years ago, Joker grossed over $335 million in the U.S.
Earlier this year, we concluded our Deadpool & Wolverine review - which you can read by clicking here - by saying, "A contender for the best superhero movie ever, Deadpool & Wolverine is two hours of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman proving they were born to play these roles and, crucially, be part of the MCU. It’s a f***ing masterpiece."
In contrast, our review of Joker: Folie à Deux wrapped up with, "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."
Box office analysts will long debate where things went wrong for the DC movie, though those musical elements and a bizarre twist ending have to be somewhere near the top of the list.
Let us know your thoughts on this news in the usual place.