In a turn of events that only Arthur Fleck would find funny, the follow-up to Todd Phillips’ 2019 origin story about the Batman villain opened in theaters nationwide this weekend to a muted $40 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, less than half that of its predecessor. The collapse was swift and has many in the industry wondering: How did the highly anticipated sequel to an Oscarwinning, billion-dollar film with the same creative team go wrong?
Just three weeks ago, tracking services pegged the movie for a $70 million debut, which would still have been down a fair amount from “Joker’s” record-breaking $96.2 million launch in Oct. 2019. Reviews were mixed out of the Venice Film Festival, where it premiered in competition like the first movie and even got a 12-minute standing ovation.
But the homecoming glow was short-lived, and the fragile foundation would crumble in the coming weeks with its Rotten Tomatoes score dropping from 63% at Venice to 33% by its first weekend in theaters. Perhaps even more surprising were the audience reviews: Ticket buyers polled on opening night gave the film a deadly D CinemaScore. Exit polls from PostTrak weren’t any better. It got a meager half star out of five possible.
“That’s a double whammy that’s very difficult to recover from,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “The biggest issue of all is the reported budget. A $40 or $50 million opening for a less expensive movie would be a solid debut.”
“Joker: Folie à Deux” cost at least twice as much as the first film to produce, though reported figures vary at exactly how pricey it was to make. Phillips told Variety that it was less than the reported $200 million; Others have it pegged at $190 million. Warner Bros. released the film in 4,102 locations in North America. About 12.5% of its domestic total came from 415 IMAX screens.
This story is from the AppleMagazine #676 edition of AppleMagazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the AppleMagazine #676 edition of AppleMagazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
GOOGLE PLEDGES TO CRACK DOWN ON FAKE REVIEWS AFTER UK WATCHDOG INVESTIGATION
Google pledged to crack down on fake online reviews with tougher punishments for rogue reviewers and businesses that try to profit from them, British regulators said following an investigation.
AS SMALL BUSINESSES FACE FIRE DEVASTATION AND TRY TO GET BACK ON THEIR FEET, A VARIETY OF AID EXISTS
The fires in California have been devastating for many small business owners and others who saw their homes, businesses or livelihoods go up in smoke.
ELON MUSK'S X PARTNERS WITH VISA ON PAYMENT SERVICE IN AN EFFORT TO BECOME AN 'EVERYTHING APP'
X is teaming up with Visa to soon offer a system for real-time payments on the social media platform — signaling some progress in a yearslong vision from billionaire owner Elon Musk to create an “everything app.”
NVIDIA FACES A RECKONING AS AN UPSTART RIVAL RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT WALL STREET'S DARLING
The superstar run for Nvidia’s stock the last few years has been astonishing. So was its tumble Monday, which caused $595 billion in wealth to vanish. That’s about as much as PepsiCo, McDonalds, Starbucks and Target are worth, combined.
GENERAL PURPOSE AI COULD LEAD TO ARRAY OF NEW RISKS, EXPERTS SAY IN REPORT AHEAD OF AI SUMMIT
Advanced artificial intelligence systems have the potential to create extreme new risks, such as fueling widespread job losses, enabling terrorism or running amok, experts said in a first-of-its-kind international report this week cataloging the range of dangers posed by the technology.
TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER ON DEVELOPING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 'FREE FROM IDEOLOGICAL BIAS'
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on artificial intelligence that will revoke past government policies his order says “act as barriers to American AI innovation.”
Model Y
THE NEW VERSION OF THE WORLD'S BEST-SELLING CAR
AI-ASSISTED WORKS CAN GET COPYRIGHT WITH ENOUGH HUMAN CREATIVITY, SAYS US COPYRIGHT OFFICE
Artists can copyright works they made with the help of artificial intelligence, according to a new report by the U.S. Copyright Office that could help clear the way for the use of AI tools in Hollywood, the music industry and other creative fields.
ARE WE ALL ALIENS? NASA'S RETURNED ASTEROID SAMPLES HOLD THE INGREDIENTS OF LIFE FROM A WATERY WORLD
Asteroid samples fetched by NASA hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world, scientists reported this week.
LINKEDIN FOUNDER REID HOFFMAN SEES BRIGHT AI FUTURE AND HOPES HIS TECH PEERS ARE RIGHT ABOUT TRUMP
LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman has been immersed in Silicon Valley since his August 1967 birth in Palo Alto, California, in the shadow of Stanford University, where he and fellow technology luminary Peter Thiel became friends as college students during the 1980s.
