‘Any brand that dares to make bold changes must provide for its audience’: The lessons from the failures of Joker: Folie à Deux
Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to the 2019 global hit film, has been anything but a hit. As well as bombing at the box office, fans and critics alike have skewered the movie. What brand lessons can be learned?
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.
