‘Any brand that dares to make bold changes must provide for its audience’: The lessons from the failures of Joker: Folie à Deux

The original Joker film released in 2019 was a worldwide hit. As well as raking in over $1 billion at the box office and being praised by fans and critics, Joaquin Phoenix won the Oscar for his starring role. However the sequel released this month, Joker: Folie à Deux, has been a major disappointment – flopping at the box office, being widely panned by audiences, and now the lowest rated comic book movie ever. So, has the devastating blows killed the Joker and comic book film brands for good? And what lessons can be learned?

Here are some industry insights.

Phoebe Netto – managing director, Pure Public Relations

Folie à deux is French for ‘madness for two’. This film combines genres, attempts to jolt the audience between storylines, and brings some deliberate madness to the chaos of the main characters. It tries hard (perhaps too hard) to defy the almost formulaic nature of a box office hit and brings are more artistic (read: unusual and unsettling) lens to film editing. It wants to catch you somewhat off guard.

Any brand that dares to make bold changes must provide for its audience. In other words, there must be some clearly defined rules amongst the unusual. For a consumer brand, that could be making it clear what the purpose is, how it connects to the brand, or if this is part of something bigger. For this film to be given fair consideration, it needs to be clear that this is not part of the comic book film genre.

Even if your goal is to defy expectations, earning respect requires setting clear parameters within which you plan to surprise. But that seems to go against the very nature of this film and what they’re striving for. It doesn’t want to be defined (remember – it wants to be enigmatic art that disrupts a category). Unfortunately, this vision is at odds with its release as a mainstream film, so reviewers and audiences are bound to be let down by the quixotic experience.

Mainstream films are always put into boxes, summed up in predictable sentences, and measured against the investment to make it and view it. That leaves it to the audience to try and define it. And without parameters that set some expectations, the result is confusion and disappointment. That’s what we’ve seen with Folie à Deux.

There is an audience for this film who will appreciate it for what it is (whatever that is), but that audience hasn’t been defined. Instead, the Joker brand has given the wrong impression of what to expect and who the film will appeal to. It’s not too late for that to be corrected – and this will need to be done through media interviews and social media. Until then, the film will continue to be maligned while in cinemas, until a fanbase can be formed once it reaches streaming and is widely accessible by those who will appreciate it.

Overall, this could be a valuable lesson for all future filmmakers creating comic book films: The genre is wildly popular for a reason. Going against the grain is an artistic choice, but to please audiences, you must hold tight to the genre’s signature predictability, optimism, and extraordinary action. By failing to do this, Folie à Deux became too far removed from the franchise that fans know and love.

Andrew Mercado – film commentator

The first Joker movie was such a powerful movie, but that was several years ago. The audience seems to have forgotten that and the withering critical reaction, which sometimes is ignored, is definitely doing damage to the second Joker movie.

There is absolutely audience fatigue to comic book movies, but the genre is a long way from being dead. Look at how good The Penguin TV series is – who knew that a TV spin-off to The Batman movie would be so good? In that universe, they teased a different Joker, so while Joaquin Phoenix may not be moving forward, the character will live on.

Ben Liebmann – founder, understory

I think the box office is less about the Joker brand and more about the film itself.

From what I’ve seen, the issue isn’t audience fatigue with the character – it’s that the sequel veered too far into something unexpected and even self-indulgent. Gone was the violence, the narcissism, and the psychological breakdown of one man’s breakdown; and in its place was what one outlet referred to as a “mad musical, fantasy-filled, court procedural”. A wild idea on paper – and maybe one they should have tested (they didn’t). But perhaps it was simply too wild for audiences wanting more from their favourite Clown Prince of Crime. Sometimes ambition pays off, and sometimes it doesn’t, and this might be a case where creative choices just didn’t land.

And when you’re off a +$US1b box office with a 3.5x budget…well, that crash landing is going to hurt.

That said, I think there’s more to the story when it comes to the critical reception. The film was probably dead-on-arrival after middling reviews from Venice. No sooner than festival reviews were being filed then critics, journalists, and keyboard warriors, were piling on. There was blood in the water. Modern media and social media thrive on hyperbole and takedowns, and it feels like this film walked into a trap of its own making – the release and marketing strategy will be part of any post-mortem.

But, to say the Joker brand is dead? I wouldn’t go that far. Like Jack Nicholson rising from the acid bath at Axis Chemicals (cough, nerd), the Joker has an uncanny way of surviving. And with the DCU being overhauled under James Gunn, and Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves’ Batman series returning next year, it will only be a matter of time before the menacing, stripped-back (yes, Heath Ledger will forever be my Joker) villain returns.

As for superhero fatigue – the genre is in a weird spot. Yes, it is looking a little bruised of late, but they’re far from done. In addition to the DCU, Marvel is teeing up a soft reboot with the return of Robert Downey Jr. and the Russo Brothers, Sony is working on the next Spider-Man, the Avengers are coming back and the Fantastic Four are on their way, and let’s not forget that Joker was bested as the highest-grossing R-rated film by Deadpool and Wolverine.

Down, but not down for the count.

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topics Andrew Mercado Ben Liebmann Joaquin Phoenix Joker Joker 2 Joker Joaquin Phoenix Joker Lady Gaga Joker sequel Joker: Folie à Deux Lady gaga Phoebe Netto

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