S Poddar
The box office is coming alive again with the chilling performance by Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. This time, with the highly anticipated sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, it pulls in $7 million at Thursday preview screenings. Phoenix reprises his iconic role as the twisted Batman villain and now brings with some peerage: Lady Gaga into the heels of Harley Quinn as she shares the same crazed spirit that makes her completely insane.
The first Joker, released in 2019, made a huge dent in the box office history as it managed to collect over $1.07 billion in global collections with a humble budget of $65 million. The film is due to Phoenix’s critically acclaimed performance, for which he also bagged the Academy Award for Best Actor. The first film connected socially and verbally with the audience and critics at large as well, who witnessed a gritty and unsettling character study offering a fresh take on the archetypal comic book villain.
While having the task of clearing the high bar set by its predecessor, Joker: Folie à Deux also comes with a much bigger budget of $200 million and no praise to that extent yet. Even when it’s sure to be a box office smash, like its predecessor, box office predictions of its early opening day has begun to show it might not quite reach the former’s hallowed figures. It will open between $50 and $65 million at the box office this weekend-a far cry from the $96.2 million that the first Joker pulled in during the same timeframe. Joker generated considerable buzz during its previews in 2019, raking $13.3 million, more than double that of the preview screenings of Folie à Deux. A smart original and progression on the exploitation of social issues have also gained massive attention to this film, overtaking all expectations at the box office. Meanwhile, Folie à Deux has stirred for other reasons, chief among them its surprise tone and genre shift.
That perhaps is the biggest difference of the sequel: its willingness to accept musical elements.
While the original Joker was some sort of brooding, psychological drama focused on Arthur Fleck’s skid into madness, Folie à Deux brings a musical and romantic twist by exploring the topsy-turvy relationship between Joker and Harley Quinn. Excitement revolved in accepting Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, particularly after the success of her film A Star Is Born. Already a story with great dramatic weight thanks to its dark undertones, this newfound character also brings in a different feel since she is known for her intense presence on screen and powerful voice. Cast-wise, Joker: Folie à Deux also goes for a notable expansion. Apart from Phoenix and Gaga, the film will also feature performances from Brendan Gleeson, Harry Lawtey, and Catherine Keener, among others. Where the first Joker was very much a character study concentrated almost exclusively on Phoenix’s Joker, this sequel seems to broaden its scope, introducing more characters into its twisted world. where, as a matter of fact, the original Joker had received a warm welcome in the Venice Film Festival, and the film, in the end, bagged the coveted Golden Lion, but the reception to Folie à Deux has been pretty subdued.
For instance, the screening did not really go off with much fanfare, and the shift to a musical tone has divided the otherwise opinionated critics and fans.
Some supporters believe that the film is strong with its creative options, while others consider it not to be compared to emotional depth and intensity in the first film. The challenge Joker: Folie à Deux faces is clear: it needs to carve out a path that truly belongs to it even as it honors the essence of what made the first film a cultural phenomenon. It cannot top the box-office angle the first enjoyed. But this strange musical mayhem and psychological soap opera may still be just enough for the kind of audience looking for something different from the everyday superhero or comic book movie. Whether or not it’ll reach the box office heights Warner Bros. might be dreaming of for this movie at this point is anyone’s guess, but with such a star-studded cast and the draw of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga to anchor it, there’s still a chance for it to have some real impact creatively.
Does this mean audiences will embrace this direction of the film or was Joker just a one-time phenomenon impossible to be replicated? In any case, whether it’s a box office success or not, making the movie Joker: Folie à Deux itself is a bold attempt to push what a comic book movie can be, and in itself is worth acknowledgment.
