Todd Phillips’ upcoming ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is the epitome of the fact that long-standing ovations at prominent movie festivals have lost all their meaning and significance in today’s world. Despite earning an 11-minute-long standing ovation at the 81st edition of the Venice International Film Festival, Joker 2 has split critics. This follows a similar pattern to its 2019 blockbuster predecessor, which also had a divisive reception. But thanks to Joaquin Phoenix’s scintillating and bone-chilling performance. It made Arthur Fleck such a memorable character in recent pop culture.
So what went wrong with Joker 2?
Well, we have made a list for you! Joker 2 has been called shockingly dull by many critics compared to its phenomenal 2019 predecessor. According to many reports, most of the criticism has been directed towards the sequel’s slow pace, underdeveloped characters, underutilisation of Lady Gaga’s acting talents, thin plot, and themes. The things that truly save Joker 2 from being a disaster are the leading duo’s performances, production design, Hildur Guðnadóttir’s sensational musical score, and Lawrence Sher’s cinematography.
Pete Hammond from Deadline called ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ an “audacious and head-spinning follow-up” to the first movie. “With song, dance, comedy, darkness, animation, drama, violence, and more, this is a musical – if it even is a musical – like no other,” Hammond added. However, the reactions from William Bibbiani (The Wrap) and Jo-Ann Titmarsh (The Evening Standard) are brutal. Bibbiani declared the sequel “impressively odd,” whereas Titmarsh called it “depressingly dull and plodding.” In a more scathing review, Alison Willmore from Vulture called the film “punishing,” and pointed out the underutilisation of Gaga’s talents.
Another important criticism that has emerged is that Joker 2’s musical aspects are not fully utilized or developed. Siddhant Adlakha from IGN also addressed this issue in his review and added that the sequel is “merely an extension of the first film’s plot in the most plodding and literal fashion”, giving the film a 5 out of 10 rating.
Early BO predictions from BoxOffice Theory tease that Joker 2 could mint over $120 million on its opening weekend in North America and Canada. This figure could even reach nearly $150 million. However, the highly polarised critical reception to the sequel could drastically change this scenario.
Director Todd Phillips has denied rumors that Joker 2’s budget reached $200 million. While he confirmed that the sequel cost more to make than the first film, he didn’t disclose the exact amount. Considering the high budget and mixed reviews, there’s a possibility that Joker 2 might not make as much money as expected. Will it even cross $1 billion globally? Only time will tell us!
We are less than a month away from the global theatrical release of Joker: Folie à Deux, which is set to come out on October 4. Stay tuned for more updates.
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