“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” This quote from The Dark Knight could well serve to exemplify what Warner Bros. must be experiencing with the reception of Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to the all-time biggest success of a film based on DC Comics is on track to be one of its biggest failures, at least in terms of public impact.
Just a few minutes ago, we learned that in Hollywood, the estimated opening weekend in the U.S. for Joker 2 is $40 million, a number that would have been great for the original film, which only cost $55 million to make, but not for Joker: Folie à Deux, which had a budget of $190 million. Adding in the global box office, the total revenue reaches $121.1 million.
Worse CinemaScore than Madame Web
Its opening falls behind other recent genre flops like The Marvels, which could only muster just over $46 million in 2023, but the bad news for Joker: Folie à Deux is that its word of mouth is shaping up to be the most disastrous seen in years for a DC or Marvel-based production. So much so that CinemaScore, a market research firm, has given it a D rating, below the C+ received by Madame Web earlier this year. On Rotten Tomatoes things are not looking good either, with a recommendation now down to 33%.
The numbers for Joker: Folie à Deux have fallen far short of the latest estimates, which were already pessimistic. For example, BoxOfficePro predicted a range of $50 to $60 million for its U.S. debut.
Another failure for Warner Bros. & DC
The commercial disaster of the Joker sequel once again opens up the wound regarding the direction of Warner Bros.’ superhero franchise. The first film was one of its biggest successes, the only absolute one alongside The Batman in the last few years, but this new installment has joined a long list of box office failures or disappointments that the studio hopes to address by putting James Gunn in charge. His first theatrical project will be Superman, planned for July.
In the end, reformulating the quote that opened this article, perhaps it would have been better for Warner Bros. to let Joker die as a big success and not extend this saga long enough to see it turn into a major failure. We leave you to read the spoiler-free review of Joker: Folie à Deux on 3DJuegos.
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