The same can’t be said for “Joker: Folie a Deux,” which is playing on more than 4,100 screens in North America, with a VOD and streaming release on Max set to come at a later date. Financially speaking, there’s virtually no way for the streaming revenue to make up the difference at this point. To date, the sequel has made just $165.3 million worldwide, including a lousy $51.6 million domestically. It will be very lucky to get to $65 million when all’s said and done. Thanks to the terrible reviews, the film has fallen all over the world; it also dropped 71% overseas this past weekend. It’s that bad. International audiences will not save this one.
The first “Joker” cost just $60 million to produce and made more than $1 billion worldwide. It became an Oscar-winning phenomenon along the way. Unfortunately, the sequel carries a budget in the $200 million range, making this record-breaking drop sting all the more severely. Had WB and Phillips budgeted the sequel more responsibly, the situation would be disappointing, yes, but not ruinous. But make no mistake: There is no way to spin this situation as it exists as anything other than dire.
Things are only going to get worse from here as “Smile 2” hits theaters this upcoming weekend, and its prospects are good. Theaters are going to need screens for that one, and they are going to drop “Joker” like a rock. From there, WB will have to just shift to VOD and hope for the best. But given the downright terrible word of mouth, the audience is going to be limited. In short, the studio is going to lose a fortune on this one, putting even more pressure on the forthcoming reboot of the DC Universe, which begins next year. All eyes are now on James Gunn’s “Superman.” No pressure!
We spoke more about the calamity of the “Joker 2” second weekend box office drop on today’s episode of the /Film Daily podcast, which you can listen to below:
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“Joker: Folie a Deux” is in theaters now.
