‘Joker 2’ Global Box Office Crawls Past Final Milestone
Oct 28, 2024
After effectively being put out of misery this weekend by exhibitors — the movie lost over 1,600 theaters domestically — Joker: Folie à Deux managed to crawl past its final global box office milestone. The movie doesn’t have much left in the tank and will be made available on digital streaming platforms in a day or two. Its latest achievement is all but ornamental, considering its astronomical reported budget and toxic reviews. All things said and done, Joker: Folie à Deux will be studied for its disastrous performance, especially in relation to its predecessor.
Released in 2019, the first Joker defied expectations (and studio assumptions) by grossing over $330 million domestically and more than $1 billion worldwide. It remains one of the highest-grossing R-rated films in history, in addition to having truly become a cultural moment. Joker also won the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and earned star Joaquin Phoenix his first Oscar. History most certainly didn’t repeat itself with Joker: Folie à Deux, which attempted to follow in its predecessor’s path, but came up drastically short.
Following a lukewarm premiere at Venice, the film tanked in its commercial debut and subsequently registered one of the worst second-weekend drop-offs in comic book movie history. It has grossed just $57 million domestically in nearly a month of release — the first film grossed $90 million in its opening weekend. In overseas markets, Joker: Folie à Deux has generated around $143 million, for a cumulative global haul of $201 million. The trouble is that the movie was produced on a reported budget of $200 million, which means that it’s nowhere near hitting its presumed break-even point, even as it stares death straight in the face.
‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Cost Nearly Four Times as Much as the First Film
Like the first film, Joker: Folie à Deux was directed by Todd Phillips, who introduced a musical angle to the narrative this time around. It proved to be unpalatable for the audience, which had broadly embraced the original film’s psychological thriller tone, and its homages to some of Martin Scorsese’s classics. Just as cine-literate as the first film, Joker: Folie à Deux received some praise for its technical achievements but was pretty much burned at the stake by audiences. It earned an unprecedented (for a comic book movie of this scale) D CinemaScore from opening day crowds and appears to have settled at a “rotten” 32% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
Even the introduction of the globally renowned Lady Gaga as the fan-favorite character Harley Quinn couldn’t move the needle for the movie, which also stars Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and Harry Lawtey. You can watch the film in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Joker: Folie à Deux explores Arthur Fleck’s ongoing struggle with his dual identity as he unexpectedly discovers love and unleashes his hidden musical talent. Set against a backdrop of societal unrest, Arthur’s journey intertwines personal transformation with chaotic encounters, leading to profound shifts in his life and the world around him.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
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