Musicals are a hit/miss proposition. WB did great with “Wonka,” as the movie recently crossed the $600 million mark worldwide. But, as this report points out, the studio also lost big on “The Color Purple,” which shot out of the gate like a canon yet fizzled quickly. The film is now expected to lose $40 million. Since “Joker” was such a huge success, it’s fair that the studio is allowing Phillips to take a risk with the sequel. However, in doing so, it should also be mitigating some of that risk when it comes to cost. WB clearly hasn’t done that whatsoever.
This comes at a time when superhero movies are flopping left and right at the box office. DC had a dreadful year in 2023, with “Blue Beetle” ($129 million worldwide/$100 million budget), “Fury of the Gods” ($133 million worldwide/$125 million budget), and “The Flash” ($270 million worldwide/$200 million budget) all flopping badly against expectations. Even “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” ($433 million worldwide/$215 million budget) majorly underdelivered. And I’m not picking on DC, either. “The Marvels” ($202 million worldwide) was a gargantuan flop as well, with “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” also underdelivering. The only outright successful live-action comic book movie last year was “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”
With that in mind, it’s easy to see why this sequel doesn’t feel like as sure of a thing as it once might have. After all, the first “Aquaman” made $1.15 billion only to see its sequel crash and burn. The same thing could happen here. I understand that a “Joker” sequel was always going to happen and, regardless of what one thinks of the first movie, it should happen from a business perspective. But this outsized budget is a case of one of modern Hollywood’s worst instincts once again rearing its terrible head. These giant franchise film budgets have got to be reined in. This is a step in the wrong direction.
“Joker: Folie a Deux” is set to hit theaters on October 4, 2024.