Even Spoiler-heavy ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Didn’t Do One Dumb Thing That Doomed Joker 2
- 'Joker 2' underperformed critically and financially, with a no-test screening strategy aimed at preventing spoilers.
- Unlike 'Joker 2,' 'Avengers: Endgame' conducted multiple secret test screenings while preserving major plot twists.
- Marvel's effective marketing demonstrated how spoiler control and audience feedback can coexist.
When a movie franchise does well, fans are always eager to hear about any updates or plot twists in the upcoming installment. This is often seen in the current superhero landscape that has connected universes and series of sequels.
However, it becomes difficult for the makers and the studio to maintain the mystery of the story to have a profound impact at the time of film release. After the huge success of Joker, Joker 2 faced a similar situation where fans were in anticipation of a lot of happenings and surprises.
Joker 2‘s Strategy to Preserve Spoilers Backfired
Joker: Folie à Deux was first released internationally on October 2, 2024, and was domestically released two days later. The movie brought back Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck and introduced Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn in a musical crime thriller.
Although the expectations were high after the billion-dollar original, the sequel failed to live up to them, to say the least. Joker 2 became the lowest-rated comic book movie ever, with a score of D in CinemaScore. The film currently has a critic rating of 33% and an audience rating of 31% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The movie has been a box-office failure as well so far. According to Deadline, it was predicted to have a worldwide collection of $121.1 million by the weekend. However, after both domestic and international decline, Joker 2 has managed to gross $114.8 million so far.
The reason for such colossal failure can be attributed to many factors. The abrupt change from a gritty, grounded theme in the original to a courtroom drama/musical is one of them. However, another big factor was the no-test screening.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the makers and Warner Bros. wanted no spoilers. So they decided to premiere the movie for everyone on the day of its release. This strategy seems unnecessary when it is compared with films like Avengers: Endgame.
Marvel movies often go through multiple test screenings to get audience feedback, which also results in reshoots and re-edits many times. Avengers: Endgame was no exception. It seems like if Joker 2 had done at least one proper test screening, it could have avoided the backlash of a lifetime.
Endgame was the culmination of an entire saga, and it came after the cliffhanger ending of Avengers: Infinity War. Fans were ready to do anything to get any leaks or updates of the sequel. But still, Marvel managed to keep every important plot twist hidden, which resulted in a multibillion-dollar movie.
How Marvel Preserved Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame had probably the most successful marketing strategy in a superhero movie, considering its scale. After the release of Infinity War in December 2018, nothing was announced about the next film. Even the title was not revealed until the first teaser came out.
Moreover, the teaser was also just the old clips with voiceovers by the Avengers. No new footage was shown until Endgame‘s Super Bowl TV spot showed a minimal amount of new clips from the film.
All these created more anticipation and desperation among the audience. Moreover, Marvel did multiple secret test screenings. According to The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe book, “friends and family” of Marvel Studios, who were essentially people recruited by the studio, were called for the screenings.
In their normal screenings, Marvel allows people to bring one extra friend or partner with them, but for Endgame, the circle was narrowed down and no one was allowed to bring any companion with them.
Besides these, even after the release of the movie, the directors came up with a campaign #DontSpoilTheEndgame on social media to encourage fans not to spoil the movie, and it worked pretty well, considering the viewers felt like they were part of a large Marvel family.
Joker: Folie à Deux is now running in theaters.
Avengers: Endgame is available to stream on Disney+.
