Recent reports shed light on what contributed to the critical and box office failure of Joker: Folie à Deux, with many attributing the outcome to director Todd Phillips’ reluctance to collaborate with Warner Bros. and DC. Despite the massive success of his first Joker film, Joker: Folie à Deux saw some of the lowest opening weekend numbers in its genre, along with poor critic and audience scores in comic book movie history. Key criticisms included its bleak ending, sluggish soundtrack, and troubling portrayal of Arthur Fleck.
Just under a week after the film’s release, Variety revealed that Phillips maintained near-total creative control over the project. Sources claim that Phillips refused to film in London, which would have reduced costs by 20%, opting for Los Angeles instead. He also reportedly disregarded feedback from DC Studios executives James Gunn and Peter Safran and did little to ease tensions with DC. Additionally, Phillips allegedly bypassed screen-testing the film and insisted on premiering it at the Venice Film Festival against the studio’s objectives.
Todd Phillips originally intended Joker to be a completely standalone film, not the start of a franchise or trilogy. However, after Joker earned over $1 billion on a $55 million budget, a sequel became inevitable. Warner Bros. seemingly interpreted the success of Joker as proof that Todd Phillips could deliver similar results with a follow-up, which likely explains why Joker: Folie à Deux‘s budget soared to $200 million. With the larger budget came increased creative control, and Phillips reportedly used this freedom to disregard any external input. As a result, Warner Bros. was unable to make changes to align the film with audience and critic expectations.