News culture Joaquin Phoenix is no longer laughing! Joker 2 collapses at the box office after disastrous reviews
Published on 09/10/2024 at 8:45 p.m.
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The film was awaited by fans of the franchise but it quickly disappointed with its musical comedy scenario. After a perfectly successful Joker, the second opus was a hit, especially at the box office.
A risky choice
Is it necessary to make a sequel to each success? The question arises even more with the release of Joker: Folie à Deux on October 2. Joker generated $437 million in profit after its $1.1 billion box office haul and a B+ CinemaScore. But the comparison with the second opus is clear. The launch of Todd Phillips’ film didn’t even bring in $40 million at the US box office over the weekendalmost as much as its predecessor in a single day. The film performed better internationally with $81.1 million in revenue, including more than 125,000 admissions recorded in France. For comparison, Joker 1 brought together more than 250,000 spectators during its first weekend.
The film cost almost $200 million to produce, according to some sources. It’s a big failure for DC Comics and especially for Warner Bros. Pictures. Barely 120 million dollars in revenue over the first weekend and reviews which were disastrous for the film. You should know that the feature film focused on a musical comedy with the arrival of Lady Gaga in the role of Harley Quinn. A bold choice which contrasts with the first opus centered on the role of the Joker, played by Joaquin Phoenix. In the marketing, Warner Bros did everything not to say that the film was a musical. But spectators are not fooled and positive word of mouth has not happened.
Unanimous reviews
Reviews of the film were overwhelming after the previews. If some people found the musical rather catchy, the specialized media were full of praise for the film, far from it. Joker: Folie à Deux received a D from Cinemascore, a 2.4/5 on Allociné, and only 33% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Vanity Fair considers the film to be “boring and uninteresting” et The Hollywood Reporter states that it is “a little light or sometimes bland”.
Critics are unanimous in France. The specialized media First states that the second opus “almost looks like a total scuttling on the part of Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix” while The World regrets a “lack of inventiveness“. The musical comedy directed by Todd Phillips did not succeed in convincing as many audiences as the first opus.
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