Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga’s box office dud Joker: Folie à Deux will try to find a new audience when it debuts on Max this week.
Joker: Folie à Deux opened in theaters on October 4 and pivoted to digital streaming via premium video on demand on October 29. Phoenix reprises his 2019 Best Actor Oscar-winning role as Arthur Fleck/Joker in Joker: Folie à Deux, while Lady Gaga plays Lee Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn.
The logline for the film reads, “Joker: Folie à Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that’s always been inside him.”
According to Max, Joker: Folie à Deux will debut on the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming platform on Friday, December 13.
You must be a subscriber to watch Joker: Folie à Deux on Max, which has three subscription tiers: $9.99 per month with ads, $16.99 per month without ads and $20.99 per month without ads plus 4K Ultra HD programming.
How Did ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ Perform In Theaters?
Joker: Folie à Deux ended its theatrical run in mid-November. According to The Numbers, the film earned $58 million in domestic ticket sales and $148 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $206 million against a $190 million production budget.
Variety, however, reported that Joker: Folie à Deux had a $200 million production budget and that $100 million was spent on prints and advertising costs.
Factoring in how a cut of the ticket sales goes to theater owners, Variety estimated that Joker: Folie à Deux had to cross the $450 million mark at the worldwide box office to break even.
However, sources with Joker: Folie à Deux’s studio Warner Bros. that the film needed to make $375 million worldwide to break even. Either way, Joker: Folie à Deux—directed by 2019 Joker filmmaker Todd Phillips—is looking at a massive financial loss.
By contrast, the first Joker from 2019 became the first R-rated movie to cross the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office. Since then, only one R-rated film—the 2024 Marvel superhero hit Deadpool & Wolverine—has earned more than $1 billion worldwide.
In addition to the film’s box office lows, Joker: Folie à Deux was blasted by Rotten Tomatoes critics, who collectively gave the film a 32% “rotten” rating based on 354 reviews, while the film also earned a 32% “rotten” rating on the RT’s Popcornmeter based on 5,000-plus verified user ratings.
The RT Critics Consensus for the film reads, “Joaquin Phoenix’s eponymous Joker takes the stand in a sequel that dances around while the story remains still, although Lady Gaga’s wildcard energy gives Folie á Deux some verve.”
Meanwhile, the audience summary for the film notes, “A broken Joker and his Lady’s voice provide Folie à Deux with enough kindling to keep a tepid fire burning for the clown prince of crime.”
Joker: Folie à Deux debuts on Max on Friday.
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