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Joker: Folie À Deux director Todd Phillips 'wanted nothing to do with DC' during making of
the $200million flop film, a new report has claimed.
The hotly-anticipated sequel to the 2019 billion dollar Oscar-winning film - stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga and was considered
a surefire hit for Warner Bros Pictures - but was slammed by critics and failed to ignite at the
box office.
The sequel has been roundly criticized for being a musical and 'ignoring' the DC fanbase - with
an agent familiar with Phillips' process telling Variety he 'wanted
nothing to do with DC' during the making of the film, with DC bosses James Gunn
and Peter Safran notably absent from the film's LA
premiere afterparty last month.
A source said: 'If the first movie was about some down-on-his-luck, mentally ill guy in a downtrodden city, it makes maybe $150 [million] worldwide.
Not a billion. People showed up because that guy
was Joker.'
In an apparent snub by Phillips, the opening sequence
of the film does not include a DC Studios logo.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently holds an audience score of 31% and a critic score of 32%
The hotly-anticipated sequel to the 2019 billion dollar Oscar-winning film
- stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga - seen with Phillips last month
- and was considered a surefire hit for Warners Bros Pictures - but
was slammed by critics and failed to ignite at the box office
A DC spokesman said Gunn was directing the Max series Peacemaker in Atlanta, which had lost a day of production due to Hurricane Helene, while Safran was
sick.
Read More
Joker: Folie À Deux is branded 'bleak' and the 'most disappointing follow-up' by critics
A Warner spokesman added that a DC logo appears at the end of the Joker sequel.
while Phillips declined to comment to the publication.
Several frictions are said to have developed between Phillips,
DC and Warner- with claims that Michael DeLuca, Chairperson of Warner
Bros. Entertainment, and CEO Pamela Abdy seemed 'unwilling' to say no to Phillips due to his huge past successes.
It is claimed Phillips would 'only' speak with DeLuca and
Abdy rather than Gunn and Safran - who took control of DC two months
before production began on Joker 2 in December 2022.
Gunn and Safran did attend the first director's cut screening for the studio but Phillips fueled rift speculation when he told a
reporter: 'With all due respect to them, this is kind of a Warner Bros.
movie.'
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav also met with Phillips shortly after WarnerMedia
and Discovery merged in April 2022 and was 'open to filming in Los Angeles
if the director would make the sequel at a lower price
point.'
The studio wanted to film in London which would have cost around 20 per cent less.
However, Phillips insisted on filming in LA with the budget remaining static.
The sequel has been roundly criticized for being a musical and 'ignoring' the DC fanbase - with an agent familiar with Phillips'
process telling Variety he 'wanted nothing to do
with DC' during the making of the film, with DC bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran notably absent from the film's LA premiere afterparty last month
A Warner spokesman told the publication the studio 'supported the decision to film in Los Angeles'.
A source directly involved with the film said: 'No one could
get through to Todd. And the one thing about genre stuff:
If you don't listen and pay attention to what the fan expectations
are, you're going to fail.
Insiders also claim studio bosses did not want to premiere the film at the Venice
Film Festival, but Phillips pushed back - with a Warner spokesman saying the studio 'fully supported the decision to bring the film to Venice.
Joker: Folie À Deux has garnered the lowest CinemaScore
in comic book movie history as the film bombed at the box
office on opening night.
It has only made $114million worldwide against its $200million budget.
The psychological musical thriller — which has been criticized as 'bleak' and
'disappointing' — officially released in theaters on Friday, October 4, but
it only raked in $20 million at the domestic
box office, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Phoenix reprised his role as the Joker in the sequel,
which had earned him an Oscar for his portrayal in the 2019 film, while Gaga took
on the role of Harleen Lee Quinzel (Harley Quinn).
However, Joker: Folie À Deux has been given a D rating on CinemaScore
— the lowest score for a comic book movie.
Madame Web — which notably also flopped in theaters earlier this year and also
received terrible reviews — holds a higher score
with a C+.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently holds an audience score of 31% and a
critic score of 32%.
The sequel is projected to rake in less that $50 million at the domestic box office during the entirety of
opening weekend, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Weeks ago, the movie had been projected to bring
in around $70 million - but the number has since drastically
dropped.
Joker (2019) notably opened with $96.2 million when the film
first released in theaters - and eventually landed a little
over $1 billion in the global box office.
The first movie - which was also directed by Todd Phillips - had a budget of between $55 and
$70 million. However, the budget increased for Folie À Deux to around $200 million.
The 2019 movie garnered praise and positive reviews
from both critics and audiences - and won the Golden Lion during the 76th Venice International Film Festival.
Joaquin received an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of the
Joker (Arthur Fleck) - and the film garnered an additional Academy
Award for Best Original Score.
The sequel also screened during the Venice International Film Festival last month in September, where
it earned a 12-minute standing ovation, per Deadline.
A source directly involved with the film said: 'No one could get through to Todd.
And the one thing about genre stuff: If you don't listen and pay attention to
what the fan expectations are, you're going to fail.
However, audiences have since taken to X after the movie released in theaters on Friday - and shared their opinions on the sequel, which
features musical sequences.
One fan penned, 'Joaquin Phoenix don't deserve this.
what happened to the script?' while another added,
'is it that bad,' followed by a crying face emoji.
'Ironically I feel that a musical, if done well, could have been a
good choice. It'd show how much of an unreliable narrator Fleck is,' one typed.
'But with some original songs, that keep everything vague, not just
covers. Also when I heard of the ending I snorted fr.'
A social media user wrote, 'Stop making sequels as musicals if the original wasn't a musical.'
'Maybe he [Phillips] only had an hour long movie, and decided to
randomly add musical scenes to fill the runtime,' one penned.
'Joker downfall really needs to be studied,' another shared, along with a monkey staring out a window.
One fan said, 'the movie sucks. i had to walk out of the cinema,' while another penned, 'After years of disagreement....*Joker 2 releases* Critics [shaking hands] Audience.'
However, audiences have since taken to X after the movie released
in theaters on Friday - and shared their opinions over the sequel,
which was also a musical
'Ironically I feel that a musical, if done well, could have been a good choice.
It'd show how much of an unreliable narrator Fleck is,' one typed
'Joker downfall really needs to be studied,' another shared,
along with a monkey staring out a window
'That's way below what we expected,' one wrote in regards to the current Rotten Tomatoes scores.
'People are saying this is the worst sequel ever.'
A fan explained, 'yea this film was bad.
it was pretentious and dull. has the aesthetic of an arthouse film without the substance.'
'It also insults the audience's intelligence. the songs were also underwhelming too.
they shouldn't have let this escape to theaters.'
One shared, 'The audience that loved the first
movie is not the same audience running to see musicals.
This was a gigantic mistake from step 1.'
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Phillips discussed
whether he would be interested in making a third Joker film or a movie
centered around Gaga's character.
'It's not really where this movie is headed for me.
I feel like my time in the DC Universe was these two films.'
Ahead of the movie's release, Lady Gaga also dropped an accompanying album titled Harlequin on September 27.
Joker: Folie À Deux has been branded the 'most disappointing follow-up to the
Oscar-winning movie' by critics, as they cast doubt
on Lady Gaga's 'thin' role in the film following its release on Friday.
'That's way below what we expected,' one wrote in regards to
the current Rotten Tomatoes scores. 'People are saying this
is the worst sequel ever'
A fan explained, 'yea this film was bad. it was pretentious and dull.
has the aesthetic of an arthouse film without the substance'
The 'bleak' sequel, has also received a tepid reception from fans, with
some claiming Lady Gaga's career could be at risk.
While the same director Todd Phillips was back in the hot seat, critics have said
the sequel is just a 'repeat' of the first hit but
with an added musical twist.
Most critics have said Todd failed to use Gaga correctly in the movie and claimed she
was only bought in for the musical aspect of it.
While the majority of critics say Joker: Folie À Deux didn't live up to expectations, others have dubbed the
movie 'bold' and 'brilliant.'
Daily Mail's Brian Viner commended the move as 'bold' and 'brilliant' but said it lacked
any thrill.
The Independent's Geoffrey Macnab said: 'Today Joker is
best remembered as one of the most subversive and original films of the last
decade, while its hugely anticipated sequel is just as bleak and formally daring as its predecessor'.
Meanwhile, the Irish Times' Donald Clarke gave the movie just two
stars but credited Phillips' work for making a sequel following the
first movie's $1billion success.
Financial Times critic Danny Leigh said although Gaga worked hard to bump the ratings up
in the sequel, Phillips appeared to have
no idea what to do with her.
Giving a three star rating, The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw claimed the movie proves 'claustrophobic' and 'repetitive.'
Joker: Folie À Deux has been branded the 'most disappointing follow-up to the Oscar-winning movie' by critics, as they cast doubt on Lady Gaga's 'thin'
role in the film following its release on Friday; seen in September in London
The Times' Kevin Maher wrote: 'The director Todd Phillips said there
would be no follow-up to the original, but he changed his mind and the result is a derivative musical'
'This might be the most disappointing follow-up to an Oscar-winning performance since Anthony Hopkins reworked his silky and terrifying
Dr Lecter from for the campy, kitschy.'
Along with Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix, other stars that had appeared
in the sequel include Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie
Beatz and Steve Coogan.
Joker: Folie à Deux has faced additional backlash from fans as they have
claimed that Gaga is running the risk of losing her acting career.
Lady GagaJoaquin Phoenix