I’m So Annoyed Joker 2 Set Back My Biggest Hope For The Future Of Superhero Movies

Unfortunately, Joker: Folie à Deux"s critical and commercial failure has cast a shadow on the possibility of similar DC and Marvel projects. Todd Phillips" 2019 Joker was a bold experiment that certainly paid off. Joker reached a record-breaking $1.06 billion at the box office on a $55 million budget, received unprecedented critical acclaim, and earned the Arthur Fleck star an Academy Award for Best Actor. Due to its high quality and unique take on an iconic character, Todd Phillips" Joker sparked conversations about the true potential in comic book adaptations.
Five years later, Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix returned to the world of Joker despite the first movie"s inherently standalone nature and open ending. Joker: Folie à Deux broke box office records, but they were all on the opposite side of the spectrum. The Joker sequel grossed $206 million on a$200 million budget, breaking records such asthe worst second-weekend decline for a comic book movie, at 81% between its first and second weekend in theaters. Joker: Folie à Deux also claimed a spot among the worst-reviewed comic book movies of all time, with a 31% audience and critics" score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Joker 2 Sabotaged Joker's Excellent Demonstration Of The Potential Of Supervillain Focused Movies Joker: Folie A Deux Undid The Work Done By Todd Phillips' First Movie Custom image by Nicolas Ayala Todd Phillips" Joker proved that comic book characters could star in serious, self-contained, standalone movies that dive deep into their protagonists" psyche without the need to follow an established format or rely on action and visual effects to capture the audience"s attention. After Joker"s massive success, the concept of director-driven solo movies based on DC villains — or any individual comic book characters — became a popular idea. The Joker"s popularity made him the best choice for a solo film, but many other Batman antagonists also have decades" worth of stories that could follow in the footsteps of Todd Phillips" Joker.
Todd Phillips was criticized for taking too many creative liberties — something that was previously considered one of Joker"s biggest strengths
Todd Phillips" Joker: Folie à Deux proposed even bolder ideas than its predecessor, but they failed to capture audiences and critics. Joker: Folie à Deux"s subversion of the first movie"s plot and themes, musical numbers, limited Joker screentime, and downer ending all contributed to the sequel"s poor performance. Joker: Folie à Deux"s controversial characteristics not only left a bad taste in the audience"s mouth, but also cast a shadow on Joker"s legacy. Todd Phillips was criticized for taking too many creative liberties — something that was previously considered one of Joker"s biggest strengths. Now, giving a director the same degree of creative freedom seems like a liability.
The Superhero Genre Is Missing Out On A Major Untapped Part Of The Comics Villain-Based Stories Have A Lot Of Potential For High-Budget Solo Movies And Shows Although Joker: Folie à Deux"s poor reception overshadowed Joker"s groundbreaking success, Joker still showcases potential that few comic book adaptations have taken advantage of since 2019. Joker: Folie à Deux broke undesired box office records at the same time that The Penguin blew audiences away. Lauren LeFranc"s top-rated The Penguin follows a similar model to Joker. The Penguin doesn"t feature Batman and doesn"t set up future projects explicitly, nor does it attempt to redeem Oz Cobb, but it focuses on a single Batman villain and delves deep into his psyche.