In what could claim the unfortunate title of ‘flop’ of the year, Joker: Folie à Deux has seen dismal reviews leading up to its October 4th release. Fan ratings are in line with what the critics are saying, hovering around 36% as of writing. The film also only brought in $7 million during Thursday previews, reportedly around half of the first Joker film. In short, the film was no laughing matter to audiences and critics.
The film is a musical, and Joaquin Phoenix is back for another rendition of the crazed nemesis of Batman, Joker. This time he has a love interest and is joined by the equally mad Harley Quinn, played by famous musician-turned-actress Lady Gaga. The ratings for the film initially had a solid start, garnering 61%. However, a few hours after the film was released, it quickly dropped to 39%, with critics calling it “stupid,” and “miserable” — blasting every practically every aspect of the film.
The first Joker film generated an incredible $1 billion in revenue at the box office on a $65 million budget. The budget for this film? $200 million, and it is currently on track to make about half of what the first film did in its opening weekend.
The film is set to be the last for Phoenix in the series of Joker films. He stated that losing weight for the film (approximately 52 pounds) was met with more complications this time as opposed to 2019 for the first film. His diet consisted of nothing but vegetables and lettuce. While he is reluctant to reveal his diet this time around, he said one issue was the addition of so many dance rehearsals, which they weren’t doing last time.
While the first Joker film was an intriguing study of a mad character that won Phoenix an Oscar for best actor, Joker: Folie à Deux attempts to tell the story of the twisted minds of Harley Quinn and Joker through the medium of musicals — which unfortunately fell flat.
