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Things Went Very Wrong for Joker 2
Folie à Deux was set to pull in $70 million over its theatrical bow, but then projections plummeted. Why?
The lugubrious $190 million musical was a sad clown face on all fronts, cast into the dunk tank by critics and posting a D CinemaScore from audiences — the first comic-book title ever to earn such a low exit-poll grade. Understood another way, Joker 2 ’s underwhelming arrival as the sequel to a prequel-reboot-spinoff speaks to Hollywood’s mounting reliance on IP concurrent with growing audience fatigue toward the offshoots of older movies ( Men in Black: International and The Marvels, we are talking to you). As the thinking goes, if Warner Bros. had screened the movie more strategically — kept it out the fall festivals, and gave first showings to amiable fanboys and influencers — the studio could have better controlled the word of mouth around the sequel, as well as its opening-weekend Tomatometer score.
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