A new report details James Gunn’s involvement in Joker: Folie à deux and who’s to blame for the film’s disastrous box office opening weekend. The first Joker was a surprise success, grossing over $1 billion on a relatively small budget. Unfortunately, Joker 2 performed well below expectations in its opening weekend and may lose money due to its $200 million budget. It only grossed $37.8 million domestically and $114.8 million worldwide, but word of mouth is so low that it likely won’t get any better.

While Gunn and Peter Safran run DC Studios, the pair are not to blame for Joker 2’s failure. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn and director Todd Phillips emphasized “they did not work together on the project.” Gunn clarified on social media that the DC logo didn’t appear in the film’s opening credits “because it’s not a DC Studios film.” It seems as if the DC Studios co-CEO is separating himself from this project, and it’s likely the right decision before the DCU begins.

Gunn Clarifies That Joker 2 Is Not His Fault

The DCU is officially set to begin in 2025 with James Gunn’s Superman, and Joker 2 is the final remnant of the old DC regime. It’s wise for Gunn and Safran to distance themselves from this flop as it was green-lit before they were hired. Joker 2 was announced in July 2022, while Gunn and Safran didn’t become the co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios until October of that year. The Hollywood Reporter stated that when Joker 2 was green-lit, “DC was in a state of near-chaos” as the DCEU was slowly crumbling.

Related Joker 2 Box Office Numbers: Total, Worldwide, Domestic, Opening & Records Joker: Folie à Deux has been released worldwide to some interesting box office numbers, raising questions about the franchise’s future.

The first Joker was meant to be a one-off, but a sequel was green-lit after it made $1 billion. The report suggests that the studio gave Phillips complete creative control with little feedback from Gunn or anyone else at Warner Bros. Joker 2 exists as an Elseworlds project, meaning it is not a part of the DCU nor Matt Reeves’ Batman universe. Gunn’s comments indicate that it won’t impact his vision for the DCU, and he also had no creative input into this project.

Gunn Wants The DCU To Be A Clean Slate

Gunn and Safran have had several bombs under their regime, but they were all projects that had been completed or in development before they came aboard. Films like The Flash, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and Blue Beetle were all part of the DCEU and were released after Gunn announced the DCEU was ending. Their failures, along with Joker 2, aren’t Gunn’s fault and the blame should be pointed at the studio executives who mishandled all these projects.

Gunn’s comments are an attempt to distance his DCU from Joker 2, as he wants the DCU to start without any controversy. Superman is incredibly important to DC’s future success and audiences can’t have the stench of this film bleeding into that one. Joker 2 would not have impacted the DCU regardless of its quality, but Gunn clearly wants nothing to do with it.

Director Todd Phillips Release Date October 4, 2024 Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Lady Gaga , Brendan Gleeson , Catherine Keener , Zazie Beetz , Steve Coogan , Harry Lawtey , Leigh Gill , Jacob Lofland , Sharon Washington , Troy Fromin , Bill Smitrovich , John Lacy , Ken Leung Runtime 138 Minutes

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter