Joker 2, or officially known as Joker: Folie a Deux, is getting a digital release on 29 October – less than a month after the movie’s premiere in cinemas. For those that have been keeping up with the comic book sequel’s box office performance, it saw a historic 81% drop in viewers during its second weekend, even being overtaken by another clown movie, Terrifier 3.
Joker: Folie a Deux continues the story established in the acclaimed 2019 movie. Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix) finds himself locked in Arkham State Hospital where he meets Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) and falls in love. Part musical, part courtroom drama, the comic book sequel tried something unique for the genre that evidently didn’t land well with audiences and critics. As of writing, it’s still sitting at a low 33% approval rating on RottenTomatoes.
According to Variety, Joker: Folie a Deux will get a digital release on 29 October. Basically, this means that its complete theatrical run would’ve been just 25 days – an abysmal theatrical run for a big-budget comic book movie. There’s no word on when it will hit streaming services but we imagine it won’t be long after its digital release.
This marks yet another movie released in 2024 with a failed theatrical run and low box office earnings due to poor critical and audience reception. Recently, the live-action Borderlands movie from director Eli Roth only made $32 million during its run in cinemas. This is much lower than Joker 2‘s $165 million earnings, though it also released digitally less than a month after bombing at the box office.
Joker: Folie a Deux is also set to be a huge loss for Warner Bros. Pictures and DC. On a reported budget of $200 million, the comic book movie would’ve needed to make $450 million to break even and that’s not even accounting for any profits earned. If you’re still keen on checking out Joker 2, we recommend waiting until the digital release on 29 October.
Source: Variety