When “Joker 2” was released, all eyes were on it. Expectations were sky-high after the 2019 hit “Joker.” Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips reunited, and Lady Gaga’s involvement was a plus. Still, I have a feeling that things didn’t go well from the start.
According to Deadline‘s report, the film earned approximately $81.1 million in international markets during its opening weekend. While these figures sound big, domestic earnings hovered between $39 and $40 million. If we add them all up, the total worldwide gross comes to $121.1 million. And these figures are extremely low compared to the original film. Come to think of it, the first film grossed $235.2 million, so this drop somewhere reflects a drop in audience interest.
The budget of this film is also no joke. It is reported to be between $190 and $200 million, which is a huge investment in itself. But will this film be able to do better than that? If only it were that easy. In fact, the sequel would have to earn over $450 million just to break even. This is a target that is probably achievable, but only if the audience’s attitude changes.
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Joker 2 Reviews and Audience Response
Now let’s talk about the reviews. Listen, when a film comes with so many expectations, its reviews are very important. And here, “Joker: Folie A Deux” has had a disappointing start. It has got a score of 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is really very low. The audience response has not been any better either. The 31% score surprised everyone.
These figures are also clearly visible on different platforms. It has got a score of 2.5 out of 5 on Letterboxd, 5.3 out of 10 on IMDb, and 4.3 out of 10 on Metacritic. All these are indicating that the audience is not able to see this film as the makers had expected.
Because, when I think about what was lacking in the film, I feel that maybe the story or the music needed some more freshness. Even Lady Gaga was not enough. Although, I know that many people like Gaga, but could she save such a great film?
Besides, not only reviews but the preferences of the audience are also changing. Now people want to see stories with more diversity and depth. The depth that was in “Joker” has been lost somewhere in this sequel.
Will there be improvement in the future?
Now, there are a lot of questions about the future of this film. Will it perform better in the next week? Or will it face a continued decline? If we look at the current reviews, I think the risk of a decline is very high.
However, sometimes films move ahead despite criticism, but this time it doesn’t seem so. If the first weekend collections are so low, what will happen next?
Hopefully, the film’s performance will improve, but that too will be a challenge. Because if the audience doesn’t think well of it, they will hesitate to tell their friends. It can become a vicious circle.
When I think about it, I understand that such films don’t always face the biggest opening weekend. Sometimes, the true response of the audience in the long term is what matters. But this time, it seems nothing special is going to happen.
In summary, “Joker: Folie A Deux” raised some great expectations in its global debut, but current figures and reviews indicate that this sequel may not reach the heights of its original film. I hope it gets a chance to improve in the future, but at the moment everything looks worrisome.
Source: Deadline