The two bosses of Warner Bros. still defend Joker: Folie à deux

“It was really a work that went against the grain. Perhaps too much for a large audience accustomed to more mainstream productions.”

The sequel to The Joker, by Todd Phillips, which won the Oscar for best actor for Joaquin Phoenix, did not have the expected success. Indeed, if the first film had generated a billion dollars in revenue, the second placed far behind, bringing in only $207.5 million at the box office for a budget of $200 million.

This second part recounts the trial and detention of Arthur Fleck, aka the Joker, with the particularity of featuring numerous musical sequences reflecting the psychological state of Batman’s sworn enemy. Another new feature is the integration of the character of Harley Quinn, the Joker’s companion, played by Lady Gaga.

Choices of scenario and direction which failed to seduce the public. However, the two bosses of Warner, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, continue to defend the film. Interviewed in The Wrapthey share their impressions of this failure. “I really liked the movie. I still love him…“, says Pamela Abdy. Michael De Luca continues:

“It was truly a work against the grain. Perhaps too much for a large audience accustomed to more mainstream productions, but I found that Todd (Phillips, the director) and his screenwriter Scott (Silver) did the thing that few directors and screenwriters do, they decided to innovate. I respect them a lot for that, but unfortunately the film did not find its audience.”

The two producers readily blame themselves for the film’s failure and own up to their mistakes. By reducing the number of test screenings, studio executives were unable to anticipate the commercial disaster.

Even if the first opus already delivered musical sequences – we remember the cult scene of the Joker going down the stairs, which also serves as a poster for the film – Joker: Folie à deux goes even further in the musical aspect. A risky bias, widely criticized at the time by Warner CEO David Zaslav, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

This sequel, on the other hand, was very appreciated by the famous filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, known for his sharp soundtracks. Last April, in Bret Easton Ellis’ podcast, he praised the artistic choices and especially the gesture of Todd Phillips:

“The Joker directed this movie. The whole concept, the fact that he spent the studio’s money like that, that’s what the Joker would have done, okay? And he takes out this big surprise gift, it’s the rabbit that comes out of the hat, he shakes your hand and you take a 10,000 volt shock. It pisses off all comic book fans. It pisses off the audience of the film. It pisses off Hollywood, all the shareholders of DC and Warner Bros. Todd Phillips is the Joker.“

The two bosses of Warner pursue a rather ambitious policy: to bring an auteurist dimension to the commercial films and blockbusters of their production company. If it didn’t pay off with Joker: Folie à deuxthe unexpected box office success of Sinners or the latest film by Paul Thomas Anderson, One battle after anotherreassure producers in their choices.