It’s one of those disasters that, in retrospect, must have appeared like a smart move. In 2019, Todd Phillips’ portrayal of The Joker altered the superhero canon by turning Batman’s archenemy into a depressing urban drama. Joaquin Phoenix earned an Oscar for his portrayal of Arthur Fleck, aka The Joker, in the commercial and critical blockbuster hit movie, so it made obvious that Phoenix and Phillips would team up again for a follow-up.
That didn’t seem like such a horrible idea either when it was revealed that Joker: Folie à Deux would be a musical, costarring Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn. Once more, Phillips was introducing characters from DC comics into an unanticipated field.
It hasn’t paid off this time. Joker: Folie à Deux made $37.8 million (£28.9 million) during its USA premiere weekend, which is less than half of the total money the first film made in the same period of time. Antonio D’Alessandro of Deadline described it as “one of the lowest sequel openings in memory of a major franchise film based on a comic book,” and he went on to make the depressing contrast that it has performed worse than The Marvels, the Marvel disaster from the previous year, at this point.
