Joaquin Phoenix
Joker: Folie à Deux is off to a rough start at the box office.
Todd Phillips’ R-rated sequel, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, earned a lower-than-expected $20 million on Friday (Oct. 4), including $7 million in previews, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Rival studios project that the Warner Bros. film will open below $50 million.
Contributing to the troubled box office numbers is Joker 2‘s dismal CinemaScore from audiences. The musical film received a failing D grade, marking the first time in history that a Hollywood comic book movie received such a low score, THR reports.
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“For a movie running two-and-a-quarter hours, Folie à Deux feels narratively a little thin and at times dull,” The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic David Rooney wrote following the movie’s world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.
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Heading into the opening weekend, Joker: Folie à Deux — the sequel to 2019’s Oscar-winning Joker — was expected to earn between $50 million and $60 million. The original film debuted significantly higher on its opening weekend, bringing in $96.2 million and receiving a B+ CinemaScore. The first Joker went on to make just over $1 billion at the global box office.
Joker 2 follows Phoenix’s return as Arthur Fleck (aka the Joker), who is now confined in Arkham Asylum. There, he meets Gaga’s Harleen “Lee” Quinzel, and they form a powerfully chaotic bond with the goal of causing mayhem across Gotham City.
In addition to her acting role in the film, Gaga recorded an entire Joker-themed album, titled Harlequin, in which she channels her character on a series of classic covers and a few originals. The surprise companion project, released ahead of Joker 2 on Sept. 27, was recorded alongside the sessions for the superstar’s upcoming as-yet-untitled seventh studio album. Her new set is scheduled for release in February, with a first single dropping in October.
Despite co-starring alongside Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux, Joaquin Phoenix wasn’t always a Little Monster. In a new interview with Capital FM, Gaga reacts to a throwback video in which Miley Cyrus introduces the actor to her music 14 years ago. In the video, a teenage Cyrus tells Phoenix that she’s a fan […]
Joaquin Phoenix‘s Joker has found his Harley Quinn.
The first trailer for the much-anticipated sequel Joker: Folie à Deux, co-starring Lady Gaga as the infamous henchwoman, arrived Tuesday night (April 9).
“I’m nobody,” Gaga’s Harley tells Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck when they meet in the trailer, with a sweeping version of the 1965 Hal David and Burt Bacharach classic “What the World Needs Now Is Love” playing in the background. “I haven’t done anything with my life like you have.”
While “Love” is the only song we hear, we see the visuals of what appears to be multiple musical moments throughout the trailer. “We use music to make us whole, to balance the fractures within ourselves,” we hear Steve Coogan’s character say in voice-over.
Phoenix acknowledges his relationship with Gaga’s character in a separate scene with Coogan, saying, “I’ll tell you what’s changed: I’m not alone anymore.”
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In addition to Gaga, Phoenix and Coogan, the film also stars Zazie Beetz (Atlanta), Catherine Keener (Incredibles 2) and Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin).
Variety previously reported that the Todd Phillips-directed film is “mostly a jukebox musical” that integrates at least 15 reinterpretations of “very well-known songs” and could contain one or two original soundtrack songs as well. The publication added that the film is expected to “break the mold of traditional musicals.”
Earlier in the week, fans got a first listen of Gaga’s voice as Harley Quinn. “You’re Joker… you can do anything you want,” the star is heard saying over a series of TikTok photos from the upcoming movie, including one of the Joker and Harley in a loving embrace with “the world is a stage” written across the top.
Folie à Deux follows the 2019 psychological thriller, Joker. The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards in 2020, with Phoenix winning best actor and Hildur Guðnadóttir winning best original score.
Joker: Folie à Deux is out Oct. 4. Watch the first trailer below.
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