Did You Know Warner Bros Gambled With Joker 2? (Photo Credit – YouTube)
Five years after the first film was released and earned over $1 billion at the box office, Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie a Deux has arrived in theaters, but the critics and audiences are not responding well to the sequel. The 2019 Joker was well-received and even earned Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar, but Joker 2 seems to fall short. While many things are at play to blame for the poor performance of Joker: Folie a Deux, a recent claim revealed that Warner Bros. decided not to have any test screenings for the movie, given its costly budget.
Joker became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, and fans were expecting far more from Joker: Folie a Deux. A part of Joker’s success was also its low budget of $55 million, due to which Warner Bros. had more faith in Joker 2 and gambled it with a hefty budget of $200 million. As the studio took too many risks with Joker: Folie a Deux, given its musical theme, the film has not met expectations at the box office.
According to Matt Belloni’s Puck newsletter report, “Despite the risky musical element and dry courtroom sequences, I’m told Warners declined to test screen Folie à Deux to get audience feedback before Phillips locked the film. That’s quite a tightrope to walk on the studio’s most expensive movie of the year.”
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Of course, test screenings may not always be the most reliable way for studios to gauge a film’s potential, but skipping them is still a risk. While the first Joker was a major hit, there’s no certainty the sequel will enjoy the same success, particularly if audiences continue to respond poorly. Moreover, Warner Bros.’s decision to forgo Joker: Folie à Deux test screenings could prove costly, potentially resulting in millions of dollars lost if the film doesn’t do as well as expected.
And honestly, Joker: Folie à Deux had a rough start. The movie earned only $7 million from its release date night previews, which is almost 50% less than the original. The movie holds a 36% critic score and a 36% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. This clearly indicates that the sequel won’t perform well at the box office, given the large number of poor word-of-mouth by the viewers.
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The post Joker 2: Warner Bros Gambled With The Film Giving It A $200M Budget & No Screenings Test? appeared first on Koimoi.
