If early signs are to be believed, DC Studios could be in for another flop when its upcoming film hits theaters.
Over the years, the blue brand has been on a rollercoaster full of ups and downs in cinemas. Although there have certainly been bright spots (2022 Batman is one of them), the comics giant hasn’t fared too well lately.
DC is currently lining up a new era behind the big screen superhero story Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn, but in the meantime it has failed to gain any ground at the box office after flop after flop (read more about DC’s box office here).
DC could have another flop on the way
According to early indicators, DC Studios’ next film, Joker: Folie à Deuxpredicted to be another box office hit for the studio.
This comes as advance ticket numbers for the R-rated sequel have started trickling in, indicating that things aren’t looking too positive for the film after its opening weekend.
Box office insider Empire City Box Office posted about the film on X (formerly Twitter) and said a projected $100 million domestic opening Joker 2 there is “in grave danger:”
“The numbers don’t lie, and even this early red flag is flying everywhere and (‘Joker: Folie à Deux’) is in deep trouble if the first half of the pre-sale day is any indication. The $100 million opening is in serious jeopardy and could go much lower, hopefully not heading” The Marvels” https://thedirect.com/”The Flash” area.
The film has even drawn early comparisons to films such as Flash and The Marvelsboth of which were straight-up flops at their studios, grossing a combined $477 million worldwide last year (per Box Office Mojo).
Preliminary predictions Joker the sequel grossed as much as $145 million (per Box Office Pro) in its opening weekend, which would have been good enough for the third-biggest opening weekend of 2024.
However, box office editor Luiz Fernando recently posted on X channel that Joker 2 it’s projected to open between $70 million and $80 million, well below the $100 million mark.
Empire City followed up that initial post with several more over the course of the day, announcing in a single tweet that things are “not cured” and in another that a projected opening weekend of somewhere in the $40 or $50 million range could be on the horizon:
“Man, this has pissed off a lot of people. Unfortunately, numbers are what they are, no matter how much you want the movies to succeed. I’ve actually been comfortable with (‘Joker: Folie à Deux’) like a lot of other trackers have it. $5 million previews Thursday and a $40-50 million opening if that doesn’t change soon.”
What’s wrong with Joker 2?
For fans of Todd Phillips Joker movie, this news of a potentially lackluster box office debut is almost certainly troubling.
Reviews of the film have been excellent, to say the least. The film has a mediocre 62% on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics are calling the project “too indulgent”, “draining” and “initiative”.
Original Joker has been equally divided among critics, earning a slightly more impressive 69% on the review aggregator.
However, this chapter includes reviews that have come in since the film’s debut. That seems to be the general opinion about the first one Jokerwho won Phoenix an Oscar for his work in the lead role, has been hampered in recent years.
The 2019 film was one of the biggest success stories of that year. Against all odds, the rough-and-tumble R-rated comic Book grossed over $1 billion worldwide.
This was enough to make the film the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, a record that would stand for several years, only to be surpassed by Christopher Nolan’s. Oppenheimer in 2023 and beyond Deadpool & Wolverine this year.
All of this can be confusing to look at Joker: Folie à Deuxmay not be ready for success.
The creative team behind the first film is back, the series earned recognition rarely seen in comic book movies, and even brought back the beloved Lady Gaga as a new addition to its cast. Everything seemed like there was no way Joker 2 could fail. However, here we are.
One of the biggest reasons behind Folie à Deuxn’s flop potential is simply related to the changing theatrical landscape the film has entered.
This is not the same movie shop that got the original Joker over that billion dollar mark. Theater viewing habits have changed and a movie has to be a massive event and it has to be good to be a big hit on the big screen anymore.
In addition, DC as a brand has had many hits since then Joker came to theaters in 2019. The high-performance brand is in the middle of a massive redesign, and partly because of this, the public’s opinion of the company is at an all-time low.
There’s still a chance Joker: Folie à Deux defy the odds and become a big box office hit; however, it is clearly becoming an uphill battle.
Joker: Folie à Deux will be in theaters on Friday, October 4.
