While reviews out of last month's Venice Film Festival were mixed, Joker: Folie à Deux only ended up being five or six percentage points behind 2019's Joker on Rotten Tomatoes. However, things changed when other critics - and fans - got to watch the movie last week.
It soon became clear this was no fan-pleasing follow-up and that the negative word-of-mouth from Monday's IMAX screenings would have a negative impact on box office takings. Now, the sequel to a $1 billion Oscar-winning hit is a critical and commercial flop.
Where did it all go wrong? Looking beyond just the bad reviews, there were some fundamental issues with Joker: Folie à Deux before its release and, crucially, with the movie itself. It's those that doomed the pretentiously titled sequel and, in this feature, we explain why.
To read more about the movie's failings, click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
6. It's A BAD Musical
When we first learned of plans for Joker: Folie à Deux to be a "jukebox musical," it definitely raised a few eyebrows. However, the notion of exploring The Joker and Harley Quinn's twisted romance in Arkham through song did have a certain appeal.
The problem here, though, is that it's just a bad musical. Joaquin Phoenix isn't exactly a joy to listen to, while Lady Gaga was clearly told to restrain herself for the sake of realism, leaving us with two average singers performing a series of bland, largely forgettable show tunes.
It's never a good sign when you watch a musical and one of the leads starting to sing leaves the person watching with a sense of dread in their stomach. Joker: Folie à Deux's music numbers really are that bad. The choreography and sets are equally unimpressive.
5. The Movie Has Nothing New To Say
Love or hate Joker: Folie à Deux, it's hard to deny that it's a hollow movie with almost nothing new to say. The first movie was a fascinating examination of a disturbed man's descent into full-blown madness but what do we get here?
An all-too-familiar story about a superfan falling for a psychopath, a feeble courtroom drama about whether "Arthur Fleck" and "Joker" are two separate personas, and a reminder that the world is terrible and everyone in it is awful.
It's all surface level and while some have tried to sell the sequel as telling a complex story about how idolizing someone like Joker can backfire, but if that is what the filmmakers were going for...well, they didn't do a good enough job.
4. A Sequel Wasn't Wanted Or Needed
Following the release of Joker, much was said about a possible sequel. Perhaps a follow-up could revolve around an unhinged, vengeful Bruce Wayne hunting down Arthur Fleck? Todd Phillips said it wouldn't happen and Joaquin Phoenix has never made a sequel, so that was that.
Until it wasn't. While film fans too often say certain movies don't "need" a sequel, Joker was the perfect example of a feature which should have been left well alone. It was a perfect standalone tale and, beyond the silly fan theories, no one truly wanted a second instalment.
That goes a long way in explaining why, beyond the bad reviews and poor word-of-mouth, Joker: Folie à Deux has failed. People need a good reason to head to the theater these days and this movie never offered a compelling argument.
3. A Terrible Ending
It's never a good idea to send moviegoers home with a bad taste in their mouths, but that's exactly what Joker: Folie à Deux does. In the closing moments, Arthur Fleck is sent back to Arkham and stabbed to death by a random inmate who then carves a smile across his face.
The idea is that they could be The Joker, but the first movie already established that when we saw how Arthur's actions influenced Gotham City's poorest, angriest citizens. It's rehashing the same message, albeit in a heavy-handed, borderline cringe-worthy, fashion.
Rumour has it an earlier cut featured Lee killing Arthur; while that too would have divided opinions, it at least makes more sense for "Harley Quinn" to dispatch Joker, taking his message and making it entirely her own as someone who will gleefully cause chaos in Gotham.
2. "Joker" Is Meaningless
Even before Joker was released in 2019, it was clear the movie wasn't exactly comic book accurate. Todd Phillips never set out to adapt the source material and instead used them as a basis for a story which put a grounded and compelling spin on the Clown Prince of Crime.
While there are those who will always idolise a villain, most left Joker all too aware that Arthur Fleck was no hero. However, Joaquin Phoenix's Joker added an exciting new version of the character to DC canon and he's subsequently become iconic.
Telling those fans that this "Joker" was just some nut and a one-pump chump makes the character worthless. Even for a comic book movie like this, getting fanboys on side is a must. Instead, they wholly rejected the sequel on social media and out in the world, killing word-of-mouth.
1. It's A Vanity Project
Joker was reportedly made for around $70 million. In contrast, Joker: Folie à Deux cost a massive $200 million before marketing, with at least a quarter of that going to Todd Phillips, Joaquin Phoenix, and Lady Gaga. So, yeah, they cashed in big time.
When all is said and done, the movie was a vanity project for Phillips and Phoenix. They once discussed taking Joker to Broadway; instead of doing that, they convinced Warner Bros. Discovery to pay them a huge amount of money to lark about on the set of a big screen continuation.
For Phillips, this was also an opportunity to hit back at those who believed he made a movie in 2019 for incels. So insecure is the filmmaker that much of Joker: Folie à Deux is devoted to making Arthur as pathetic as possible and driving home the fact he's not a good person. No sh*t!