Warner Bros and DC Films continue to sink into gloom. A few weeks after the release of Joker: Folie à Deux — which seemed well on its way to being the comic book adaptation of the year — even the early release of the film on VOD fails to make Arthur Fleck smile again. The black streak continues for the film that everyone already saw at the top of the world box office and in the running for the Oscars and other ceremonies. It must be said that in 2019, Joker first of the name surprised the world by establishing itself as the more mature side of productions dedicated to superheroes and their antagonists. Drawing inspiration from Scorsese and Nolan, Todd Philipps hatched a captivating drama about the personality of an outsider who finds his light by creating a revolutionary figure. A Gotham necrotized by crime, as always, a malignant autopsy of the antagonist and a staging which stood out greatly from the ordinary superhero section, Joker had no trouble standing out in the face of criticism, the public and at the box office. If Phillips did not intend to continue the trip, the appeal of greenbacks will ultimately have been stronger.
This October 2, it was alongside Lady Gaga that Oscar-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix returned to action. The idea: to tell the story of Arthur Fleck’s trial and his meeting with a certain Harley Quinn. With the musical at the heart of the narrative process, the filmmaker nevertheless took the risk of depriving himself of some of the worshipers of his first film, for whom the singing sequences are torture. The risk-taking was commendable, the execution much more complicated. Blasted by critics and shunned by the public, Joker: Folie à Deux only collected 204 million around the world. For comparison, the first film managed to exceed a billion dollars in revenue after only one month of release. Warner Bros. also understood that the die was cast and that nothing could save Arthur Fleck from shipwreck. The film was therefore offered for rental last week, in advance, to cushion losses. This is not the first time that a studio has used this emergency exit, it was recently the case for Borderlands. The fact remains that even from the comfort of their living rooms, spectators do not throw themselves headlong into this second adventure of the Joker.
The fourth step of the podium
In the United States, where it is now available for rental, Joker: Folie à Deux met with moderate success according to data shared by iTunes and Fandango. The two platforms, the most used in Uncle Sam’s country, have just shared their weekly rankings. Folie à Deux bows to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Deadpool & Wolverine or even The Substance. While its novelty should have greatly benefited it, the footage fails to surpass the behemoths of previous weeks, or the spotlight of the moment in the case of The Substance. If the absence of figures does not allow us to imagine the impact of this new disappointment on Warner Bros’ revenues, we already know that the company will not cover its costs.
With an estimated budget of 200 million dollars, and significant marketing costs, Joker: Folie à Deux should far exceed the 500 million to become profitable. This now seems impossible. Only making it available on subscription streaming platforms, Max, could offer it a chance to return to the forefront. It wouldn’t be the first time that a thunderous box office failure has appeared on streaming. We rememberFor Argywhich despite a failure at the cinema, managed to stand out in the ranking of the most popular films on SVOD at the time of its release.
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