Inside the ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Debacle: Todd Phillips ‘Wanted Nothing to Do’ With DC on the $200 Million Misfire

As a seasoned film critic who’s been around since the days of black-and-white cinema and popcorn made at home, I’ve seen my fair share of Hollywood drama, but the tale of “Joker: Folie à Deux” is one for the books. This saga is reminiscent of a Greek tragedy, with a maverick director like Todd Phillips, a studio struggling to find its footing, and a fanbase yearning for the familiar yet craving something new.

On September 30th, Lady Gaga playfully blew kisses to her fans outside the TCL Chinese Theatre before the premiere of “Joker: Folie à Deux.” Meanwhile, Joaquin Phoenix momentarily set aside his usual serious demeanor and offered a few smiles from the red carpet. Simultaneously, David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, attended the after-party at Sunset Tower and interacted with the film’s two well-compensated main actors. As various stars shone brightly, some notable absences were observed, such as James Gunn and Peter Safran from DC Studios.

From a film enthusiast’s perspective, I found it intriguing to see the key players missing from a film rooted in one of the most captivating elements of the DC universe. The production of this movie seemed to reflect an underlying tension that unfolded off-screen during the troubled creation of the Warner Bros. musical. Todd Phillips, the director, reportedly had no interest in DC while working on the film, a fact confirmed by an agent who is privy to his unique arrangement that allowed him to sidestep any control from the brand’s decision-makers. Despite Gunn’s public endorsement of the film on social media, Phillips appears to have distanced himself from DC. As the title cards rolled in the historic Hollywood cinema during the opening minutes, it was evident that Phillips had given DC a silent but clear rebuke – there was no DC Studios logo to be seen.

According to an informed source, if the initial film focused on a destitute, mentally ill protagonist in a run-down urban setting, it didn’t rake in a billion dollars globally, only around $150 million. However, audiences flocked to see it primarily due to the charisma of that character, who happened to be the Joker.

(A DC spokesperson downplays any tensions and says Gunn was busy directing the Max series “Peacemaker” in Atlanta, which had lost a day of production due to Hurricane Helene, while Safran was down for the count with bronchitis. A Warners spokesperson notes that a DC logo appears at the end of the Joker sequel. Phillips declined to comment for this story.)

After the rocky start of the sequel during its opening weekend, there’s a lot of contemplation going on at the Burbank studio. The main question being posed is: Why invest $200 million in creating and another $100 million in promoting a blockbuster that disregards the DC fan base? And “disregards” may be an understatement. In essence, a review from Rolling Stone summed up the film’s message to fans quite bluntly: “The message of ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is clear: You can take a hike.

Regrettably, the ardent supporters of the movie remained at home, leading to a surprising $37.7 million domestic box office debut for Phillips’ sequel to his 2019 “Joker”, which was an unprecedented hit with a production budget of just $60 million and earnings of $1.1 billion. This neglect from the fanbase has potential consequences for the brand. It’s important to remember that Joker is not some minor character; he is Batman’s primary adversary and one of the most well-known villains in comic books, whether from DC or Marvel. Considering Phillips made such a lucrative first “Joker” for Warner Bros., as well as three “Hangover” films, the heads of the motion picture group, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, were reluctant to reject their valued director with their initial approval.

The filming of the movie started in December 2022, two months following Gunn and Safran taking charge at DC Studios. Many believed that the duo would offer suggestions and opinions on the R-rated musical, given the significant investment made. However, Phillips was reluctant to collaborate with them and instead worked closely with De Luca and Abdy. Despite their presence during the first director’s screening of the film for the studio, there has been little indication to suggest a smooth relationship between the two parties. When asked by a Collider journalist about any changes in the production process after Gunn and Safran took over from DC head Walter Hamada, or if they had any input, Phillips responded, “In essence, this is essentially a Warner Bros. picture.

Despite occasional disregard of Warner Bros.’ feedback, sources claim that Zaslav held a one-on-one meeting with Phillips shortly following the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery in April 2022. During this meeting, Zaslav was open to filming the sequel in Los Angeles if it could be done at a lower cost. However, Phillips was adamant about shooting in Los Angeles and the budget remained unchanged. A representative from Warners stated that they supported the decision to film in Los Angeles and the meeting between Zaslav and Phillips was simply a casual get-together where they discussed potential future projects. Insiders suggest that studio executives were not keen on premiering the film at the Venice Film Festival, as they had done with “Joker” five years prior, but Phillips resisted this idea. Warners’ spokesperson confirmed that they fully supported the decision to screen the film at Venice.

Further clashes of determination arose between Phillips and Warner Bros. over the screening of “Joker 2.” However, it was first presented to the public at its Venice premiere. The critics panned it, leading to a poor 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes prior to earning a disappointing “D” CinemaScore. For comparison, the poorly received “Madame Web” garnered a “C+” this year. (A Warner Bros. representative explains, “Given that the film includes spoilers, we chose not to prematurely expose plot points to test audiences, but rather allow viewers to explore the movie at their leisure.”))

As a movie critic, I must confess that making a sequel to a blockbuster like “Aquaman” or “Joker” can be seen as a shrewd move, but the financial stakes are undeniably high. With an enormous production budget, portions of which were allocated for heavyweights like Phoenix ($20 million), Phillips ($20 million), and Gaga ($12 million), this film was set to recoup at least $450 million just in box office sales – a target that now seems out of reach. The recent string of losses at Warner Bros., including “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” and “The Color Purple,” has left them playing catch-up, and their stock price continues to languish, hovering near an all-time low at $7.67 per share.

According to analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities, this is a significant blow for Warner Bros., especially given the high expectations in the industry right now. He further adds that the timing couldn’t be more unfortunate.

The absence of Bradley Cooper’s input might have impacted the production of ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’, given that he was a producer for the 2019 version and is renowned for his commercial acumen, demonstrated by his successful low-budget film ‘A Star Is Born’ with Lady Gaga. Unfortunately, Cooper parted ways with the director in 2021, which meant he couldn’t contribute to the sequel.

According to someone who’s closely connected to the movie project, no one was able to reach Todd. Moreover, when it comes to genre films, if you ignore and disregard the anticipations of the audience, you’re bound to fall short.

Initially, it was intended to focus on satisfying the fanbase as a key strategy. When the Zaslav era commenced, the CEO outlined a 10-year plan for DC that would mirror the Marvel approach, where every film follows the unified vision of president Kevin Feige. However, unexpectedly, the “Joker” sequel was given leeway to deviate from this guideline, with Phillips working independently in a separate division from the fresh DC executives. Consequently, the core DC fans expressed dissatisfaction, leading to potential harm for the brand.

According to Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations, “This disaster is at ‘Speed 2′ level – Warner Bros. overspent significantly on a sequel, but the film’s domestic audience almost completely shunned it. The fall season saw Warner Bros.’ biggest hit with ‘Beetlejuice 2’, and now they likely have one of the biggest flops as well, with ‘Joker 2’. It seems that sequels often follow this pattern. The creators of ‘Joker 2′ chose a direction that most audiences didn’t prefer to take. In the end, the decisions made unfortunately didn’t match up with moviegoers’ preferences.

2024-10-08 18:18

Inside the ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Debacle: Todd Phillips ‘Wanted Nothing to Do’ With DC on the $200 Million Misfire

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