Besides Being a Musical, Joker: Folie à Deux’s Another Planet-sized Mistake Will Cost Warner Bros. Very Heavily
- Joker: Folie à Deux is crashing at the box office, failing to meet the standard set by the original 2019 flick.
- Warner Bros did not have test screenings for the movie despite taking a huge risk by making it a musical movie.
- Fans point out how the studio is cutting corners at every turn and thereby producing box office failures.
While it’s often difficult to analyze what went wrong for a movie to flop badly at the box office, the issues with Joker: Folie à Deux started when they decided to make it into a musical. The original flick received somewhat mixed reviews since not every DC fan could connect with the story on the whole, and Warner Bros has taken another major swing with the sequel.
Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in lead roles, the Todd Phillips directorial continues the story from where Joker left off in 2019. As Arthur Fleck spends his time incarcerated in the Arkham State Hospital, things soon change as he comes across the love of his life.
Joker: Folie à Deux did not have Test Screenings
Warner Bros does not necessarily need to scratch its head trying to find reasons why Joker: Folie à Deux is off to an abysmal start. The opening weekend at the box office did not even make a dent in the movie’s revenue considering it’s made with a whopping $200 million budget. The studio spent money willy-nilly while filming the movie but perhaps forgot to account for the test screenings’ budget towards the end. According to the Puck Newsletter, the studio denied test screenings.
Joker 2: Todd Phillips Quits DC After Disastrous Sequel That Shouldn’t Have Been Made at First Place
Test screenings help studios get a lay of the land in terms of how people feel about the finished story. Audiences are able to react to the movie and give their feedback so certain changes can be made, thus somewhat ensuring the movie’s success. Although that’s not always the case, Joker: Folie à Deux could have somewhat saved face had it not declined test screenings.
The movie is bombing at the box office, barely crawling to meet the standards set by the original movie, which raked in over a billion dollars at the box office and won Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar. This mistake is costing Warner Bros pretty heavily as Joker: Folie à Deux becomes yet another DC flop while the competitors Marvel are thriving with great shows and movies.
Joker: Folie à Deux took a risk in including musical aspects to the story and this is why it needed to test it for a chunk of the audience. The bold gamble by the studio and filmmakers is proving to be very risky for the movie. Despite some mixed opinions, the original movie garnered a substantial sum at the box office and was eventually deemed a success. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the sequel.
Fans react to Joker: Folie à Deux denying Test Screenings
As soon as the news spread of Joker: Folie à Deux denying test screenings before finalizing the movie, users swarmed to the social media platform to give their two cents on the studio’s decision. Much like other media publications, they too think it was a bad move on Warner Bros’ part.
Another interesting aspect pointed out by users here is the studio’s tendency to cut costs wherever it can. When the reviews in the test screenings are not satisfactory, the studio tends to shoot certain parts of the movie again or tweak the story slightly to make more sense. The reason why Joker: Folie à Deux didn’t have test screenings could be because they did not wish to have reshoots.
Joker: Folie à Deux is playing in theatres worldwide.
