Who is to blame for Joker 2?

After years of development, the new DC Universe film Joker: Folie à Deux finally hit theaters, and the film’s initial box office performance was disastrous, Leading to questions about who is to blame for DC’s recent failure. Audience interest has not been kind to DC in recent years, and Joker 2The box office numbers clearly suggest that the film is likely to be another failure for Warner Bros Discovery. Movie performance is multifaceted, but there are some errors in the making of the film that have begun to become clear.

Following The bottles historic bombing Despite bringing back Michael Keaton as Batman, it seems the studio is struggling to connect with audiences. After a medium performance by Black Adam And incredible failures of films as different as blue bug, Shazam: Wrath of the GodsAnd now Joker 2It seems that nothing the studio is doing is resonating. It is hoped that the DC Universe will be relaunched by 2025 Superman Could change this, though understand what’s wrong with movies like Joker: Folie on Deux – and who is responsible – is key to moving forward.

Walter Hamada and Toby Emmerich had key roles in the creation of Joker 2

Early film heads from Warner Bros. and DC got the film off the ground

Some of the blame for Joker 2‘s failure could stand with the old studio regime, meaning no one could ultimately be held responsible. The Hollywood Reporter‘s A piece from the movie’s fallout also outlines former Warner Bros. chair Toby Emmerich’s involvement with the new film, tying the two together. While Emmerich stepped down from Warner Bros. in 2022 to be replaced by Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, the deals for Joker 2 They have already been under his guidance in a big way. With the rolling wheels, nothing can be done to stop them.

Due to the deals, the budget for JokerIts sequel, after the first film cost $55 million, ballooned significantly. The main forces behind the first film’s success, Director Todd Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix were able to command incredible payouts of $20 million each For the new sequel. They were also able to increase the cost of the movie in total to around $ 190,000,000, a figure that they could not even dream of the first film.

Walter Hamada, the former president of DC Films, was less involved this time. DC has been in a strange place of change and restructuring the past few years, which has led to a lack of clarity around accountability within the organization. This led to the cancer’s Black Adam Turmoil among other things. Months before James Gunn and Peter Safran were brought in to form the new DC Studios, there was less oversight of the division. This lack may be partially responsible for the film’s failure.

David Zaslav’s orders manifest themselves in the creation of Joker 2

The Warner Bros Discovery CEO pushed the film forward into production

David Zaslav earned a bad reputation with some parts of DC’s audience after the cancellation of BatgirlAnd the CEO of Warner Bros Discovery can be seen to have some part of the blame for the failure of Joker: Folie on Deux. After Project Popcorn, an initiative from the studio in 2021 that saw their major films for the year simultaneously released in theaters and on HBO Max, the studio was in a poor place financially.. Most of their 2021 films failed to make much money in theaters, and the streaming gains weren’t nearly as material.

David Zazlov was brought in as CEO after a merger with Discovery, and he had a lot to fix, and a lot of debts to deal with. Many of the decisions coming from the new regime were unpopular, including the rebranding of HBO Max to simply Max, and cancellation of various film projects.. However, Zlaw’s new authority also came with a big pivot from streaming to theatrical releases, which seems to be the trend in the entire industry.

This brought a mandate to use more of the studio’s established intellectual property for major theatrical releases. after that, It was that quality was less of a priority than the main release of films with some kind of recognition. After the incredible success of the first film, this seemed like it would be a home run. However, this was not the case, raising questions about the points in the process that those who were not directly involved in the project could have altered its course.

Todd Phillips has some key responsibility for Joker 2 as its director

The Hangover director has a poor track record with sequels

Todd Phillips has worked in Hollywood for decades, and during this time the filmmaker has made a number of excellent films. of Old school to Due date to The hangoverThe filmmaker has clearly established himself as a dab hand with comedy, but also with telling original stories that resonate with mass audiences.. While the first Joker was a step away from his comedy roots, and more akin to the poorly received War Dogs On his resume, the film worked.

After the success of the first film, it made sense that the studio wanted another one. However, this turned out to be an inherent challenge, as the first movie was seemingly created without any intention of a follow-up installment. Taking a $20 million payday to explore his own world would be an exciting proposition for any filmmaker, but it’s also one that carries with it some key risks—which, in this case, don’t seem to have paid off in terms of critical acclaim. Reception.

Unfortunately, Phillips, who wrote the new film along with Scott Silver, did not have much success with sequels, and this should have been a hint to everyone involved that the sequel may not turn out well. The director Hangover Sequels were both poorly received critically, and each had diminishing returns at the box office. It seems that Phillips works best when he’s exploring original stories, rather than returning to IP, even if it’s IP that the filmmaker himself generated.

Joaquin Phoenix reportedly is the reason Joker 2 started to be made

The actor recently faced several controversies

The Hollywood Reporter Wrote an extensive piece on Joker 2s failure, ending with the assertion that When asked who the intended audience was, one outside source summed it up like this: “For Joaquin.”“ It is not clear what outside source they are referring to, although it seems to suggest that Joaquin Phoenix is ​​largely to blame for the film being made. As the heart and soul of the first film – and its main character – it is clear that there is some reasoning why some would say this is the case.

Of course, no sequel would be made without Phoenix signing on to play the lead role once again. The iconoclastic actor was an instrumental part of getting the film into production, and the direction of the film. Talk to ABC News In 2019, the actor said “I can’t stop thinking about it…if there’s anything else we can do with Joker that could be interesting.” This started as the idea for a Broadway show, but evolved into the resulting film.

With such an interesting figure as its star, the film has to be something original and interesting to entice him back. Some of the film’s positive reviews were celebrated Joker 2s originality, and These unusual features may have been instrumental in getting the actor to return to the role of Arthur Fleck. Unfortunately, they did not result in a film that connected with audiences, with Joker 2 Often referred to as more of an art film than a comic book blockbuster.

Joker 2’s marketing may be responsible for its reception

The marketing has made it hard to know exactly what Joker 2 is supposed to be

Exactly what Joker 2 was intended to be is hard to be sure until the film is released. While the film is described as a musical by the director, Lady Gaga somewhat contradicts this. While the first trailer provided some exciting imagery, it also did a poor job of informing audiences about what to really expect from the somewhat unnecessary sequel. Some interesting visuals, and the suggestion of musical elements, provided more confusion than engagement of the public.

The film was a blend of drama with elements of jukebox musicals, and doesn’t seem to have worked for most audiences. With this in mind, it appears that the issues with Joker 2s marketing could have been two-fold, putting those who felt that it did not resemble the original film enough, but still leaving others confused about the movie and thus less likely to enjoy it if they actually saw the sequel.

The audience’s misreading may explain Joker 2’s negative reception

Joker 2 seems to have disdain for fans of the original film

One of the most discussed details about Joker: Folie à Deux Is that the sequel does not seem to have any affection for some fans of the original film. It was a huge misreading of the first film that saw audiences engaging and celebrating Arthur Fleck’s rise to madness in its climax. Much of this came from a misunderstanding of the film, which looked to explore how mental health is often talked about poorly and unfairly in society, because the film did not advocate violence or see Arthur as a hero.

Some instead celebrated Arthur’s violent madness, and it made sense that the audience expected to see more of this in the film’s sequel. instead, Joker 2At the end saw the character reduced and at its lowest. In the end, the character is no longer Joker, and it is suggested that another may wind up the role of the “real” Joker later. The main division choice, among others of the film, seemed to understand how the audience felt about the first film, and deliberately make the opposite of their expectations for the sequel.

much of Joker 2Its failure may be because of how divorced the intentions of the movie and many viewers’ hopes for the story ends. Subversion of audience expectations can be a very tricky thing to pull off, and carries some tremendous chances of backfiring.. However, it seems that the failure of the new film is multifaceted, and seems emblematic of the state of DC in recent years. Despite the failure of Joker: Folie à Deux, There is still some hope that DC Studios can catch up with the launch of the DC Universe soon.

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