Key Takeaways
- Joker 2 digital release flopped, denting DC’s financial hopes.
- The film failed to resonate with audiences, only reaching 4th on digital charts.
- The movie needed to earn $375-450M to break even but only made $204M worldwide.
The Joker: Folie à Deux digital release has been a flop, making it difficult to see Warner Bros. mitigating the DC film’s financial losses.
Joker 2 opened to dismal reviews from most critics. However, Folie à Deux also failed to resonate with moviegoers, who were largely more positive toward the first Joker movie than most critics. That inability to resonate with audiences resulted in Joker 2 bombing at the box office and receiving a digital release less than one month after its theatrical debut. While Warner Bros. may have hoped to recoup some of its investment with Joker 2‘s digital release, audiences appeared to have no interest in forking out money to rent or buy Joker 2.
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Collider reports that Joker 2 debuted in 4th place on iTunes and Fandango’s charts following its October 29 digital release. On iTunes–which bases rankings on the number of transactions–Joker 2 ranked behind 3rd place finisher The Substance, a body horror movie starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. Fandango bases its rankings on how much revenue a film earns, but Joker 2 was still only able to reach fourth place. This is hardly a strong digital debut for a new release, especially considering Beetlejuice 2 was able to climb back to the number one spot on both iTunes and Fandango despite being in its fourth week of home release.
Roughly a week after it debuted on home entertainment platforms, a new Joker 2 promo was released to promote its digital release. The ad centered on Joker 2 courtroom scenes where Zazie Beetz’s Sophie Dumond and Leigh Gill’s Gary Puddle give testimony at Arthur Fleck’s trial. However, fans couldn’t help but notice the ad largely featured footage from the first Joker movie. While this was arguably a reasonable decision considering Dumon and Puddle are recounting events from the first movie, Reddit fans argued Warner Bros. was trying to convince fans to buy or rent the second film by reminding them of its more successful predecessor.
Those familiar with Joker 2‘s finances reportedly said the film needs to earn $450 million to break even, but Warner Bros. insiders claimed it would do so at $375 million. Regardless, Joker 2 failed to reach either threshold and is leaving theaters with just $204 million worldwide. Joker 2 is estimated to lose $125–200 million for Warner Bros, and if there was any hope of cutting those losses, it is seemingly dashed by the film’s poor performance on digital platforms.
Joker: Folie à Deux is available on digital platforms.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to Todd Phillips’ critically acclaimed comic book thriller Joker. Reprising his Academy Award-winning performance as the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, Joaquin Phoenix revisits the iconic DC character alongside Lady Gaga, who makes her debut as Joker’s lover Harley Quinn in this standalone continuity of the DC Universe.
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Source: Collider