“Joker: Folie à Deux”: Bad start – but praise from Coppola

“Joker: Folie à Deux”
Bad start – but praise from Coppola

This week, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” the sequel to Todd Phillips’, 53, Oscar-winning 2019 blockbuster, hit theaters. However, the producers of the film probably expected much more from the opening weekend on the domestic US market. According to initial projections, as reported by the US website “Deadline”, the income is well below expectations.

Industry experts therefore assume that “Joker: Folie à Deux” will bring in around $47 million on its opening weekend. That may sound like a solid start at first, but it is a gigantic gap behind the previous leaders of the year. For comparison: The Pixar film “Inside Out 2” brought in around 154 million US dollars on its opening weekend this year, while “Deadpool & Wolverine” brought in just under 211 million US dollars. With a budget of around $200 million, “Joker: Folie à Deux” was more than three times more expensive to produce than its acclaimed predecessor.

Too daring a genre move?

To make matters worse, national and international critics have written some scathing reviews of “Joker: Folie à Deux”. And the previous cinema audience was also disappointed with the “Joker” sequel, as various review sites on the Internet show. On Rotten Tomatoes, for example, currently (as of October 6th) only 33 percent of critics’ votes and only 31 percent of audience opinions are positive.

There is once again nothing to complain about about the acting performance of Joaquin Phoenix, 49, and Lady Gaga, 38, is also quite convincing as the new character Harley Quinn. A major point of criticism, however, is Phillips’ decision, which many find incomprehensible, to turn the film into a musical.

Backing from another false starter

The “Joker” filmmaker receives support from a veteran director who is currently even more popular: Francis Ford Coppola, 85, whose self-financed, $120 million mammoth project “Megalopolis” is currently failing resoundingly at the box office a little incendiary speech in favor of his colleagues.

On his official Instagram page, Coppola wrote: “Todd Phillips’ films always excite me and I thoroughly enjoy them. Ever since the wonderful ‘The Hangover’ he has always been one step ahead of the audience and never does what the audience expects. Congratulations on ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’!”

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