麻豆传媒

Entertainment

    • 'Joker 2' stumbles at box office amid poor reviews from audiences and critics

    Joaquin Phoenix arrives at the premiere of "Joker: Folie a Deux" on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) Joaquin Phoenix arrives at the premiere of "Joker: Folie a Deux" on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
    Share

    鈥淛oker: Folie 脿 Deux鈥 is the No. 1 movie at the box office, but it might not be destined for a happy ending.

    In a turn of events that only Arthur Fleck would find funny, the follow-up to Todd Phillips鈥 2019 origin story about the Batman villain opened in theaters nationwide this weekend to a muted US$40 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, less than half that of its predecessor. The collapse was swift and has many in the industry wondering: How did the highly anticipated sequel to an Oscar-winning, billion-dollar film with the same creative team go wrong?

    Just three weeks ago, tracking services pegged the movie for a US$70 million debut, which would still have been down a fair amount from 鈥淛oker鈥檚鈥 record-breaking US$96.2 million launch in Oct. 2019. Reviews were mixed out of the Venice Film Festival, where it premiered in competition like the first movie and even got a 12-minute standing ovation.

    But the homecoming glow was short-lived, and the fragile foundation would crumble in the coming weeks with its Rotten Tomatoes score dropping from 63 per cent at Venice to 33 per cent by its first weekend in theaters. Perhaps even more surprising were the audience reviews: Ticket buyers polled on opening night gave the film a deadly D CinemaScore. Exit polls from PostTrak weren鈥檛 any better. It got a meager half star out of five possible.

    鈥淛oker: Folie 脿 Deux鈥 cost at least twice as much as the first film to produce, though reported figures vary at exactly how pricey it was to make. Phillips told Variety that it was less than the reported US$200 million; Others have it pegged at US$190 million. Warner Bros. released the film in 4,102 locations in North America. About 12.5 per cent of its domestic total came from 415 IMAX screens.

    Internationally, it's earned US$81.1 million from 25,788 screens, bringing its total global earnings estimate to US$121.1 million. In the next two weeks, 鈥淛oker 2鈥 will also open in Japan and China.

    Second place went to Universal and DreamWorks Animation's鈥淭he Wild Robot,鈥 which added US$18.7 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to nearly US$64 million. Globally, it's made over US$100 million. Warner Bros.' 鈥淏eetlejuice Beetlejuice" took third place in weekend five, Paramount's 鈥淭ransformers One鈥 landed in fourth and Universal and Blumhouse's 鈥淪peak No Evil鈥 rounded out the top five.

    The other big new release of the weekend, Lionsgate's 鈥淲hite Bird,鈥 flopped with just US$1.5 million from just over 1,000 locations, despite an A+ CinemaScore.

    Overall, the weekend is up from the same frame last year, but 鈥淛oker's鈥 start is an unwelcome twist for theater owners hoping to narrow the box office deficit.

    Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix have said they aspired to make something as 鈥渁udacious鈥 as the first film. The sequel added Lady Gaga into the fold, as a Joker superfan, and delved further into the mind of Arthur Fleck, imprisoned at Arkham and awaiting trial for the murders he committed in the first. It鈥檚 also a musical, with elaborately imagined song and dance numbers to old standards. Gaga even released a companion album called 鈥'Harlequin,鈥 alongside the film.

    In his review for The Associated Press, Jake Coyle wrote that 鈥淧hillips has followed his very antihero take on the Joker with a very anti-sequel. It combines prison drama, courthouse thriller and musical, and yet turns out remarkably inert given how combustible the original was.鈥

    The sequel has already been the subject of many think pieces, some who posit that the sequel was deliberately alienating fans of the first movie. In cruder terms, it鈥檚 been called a 鈥渕iddle finger.鈥 But fans often ignore the advice of critics, especially when it comes to opening their wallets to see revered comic book characters on the big screen.

    It has some high-profile defenders too: Francis Ford Coppola, who last week got his own D+ CinemaScore for his pricey, ambitious and divisive film 鈥淢egalopolis,鈥 entered the Joker chat with an Instagram post.

    鈥淍ToddPhillips films always amaze me and I enjoy them thoroughly,鈥 Coppola wrote. 鈥淓ver since the wonderful 鈥楾he Hangover鈥 he鈥檚 always one step ahead of the audience never doing what they expect.鈥

    Deadline editor Anthony D鈥橝lessandro thinks the problem started with the idea to make it a musical. 鈥淣o fan of the original movie wanted to see a musical sequel,鈥 he wrote on Saturday.

    The first film was also divisive and the subject of much discourse, then about whether it might send the wrong message to the wrong type of person. And yet people still flocked to see what the fuss was about. 鈥淛oker鈥 went on to pick up 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture and best director, and three wins. It also made over US$1 billion and was the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, until this summer when Marvel's 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine" took the crown.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    A 30-year-old northwestern Ontario woman has been charged with arson following a structure fire Thursday night, police say.

    opinion

    opinion Tips on managing your financial stress

    Financial strain can be an uncomfortable burden to bear, especially if you feel that you're doing as much as you can and are barely managing to stay afloat. Personal finance contributor Christopher Liew shares some tips for managing financial stress and digging your way out of debt.

    The eight sons of Richard and Sarah Harvie from Gormanville, N.S., are believed to be the most siblings from one family, from either North America or the British Commonwealth, to serve in World War II.

    One person is dead after the driver of a pickup truck hit a bench where two people were waiting for the bus in Surrey Saturday afternoon, police have confirmed.

    Canada

    • One person is dead after the driver of a pickup truck hit a bench where two people were waiting for the bus in Surrey Saturday afternoon, police have confirmed.

    • The federal government is providing $1.2 billion to help build a new hospital complex on the James Bay Coast, easing residents鈥 fears that construction wouldn鈥檛 start this year.

    • The eight sons of Richard and Sarah Harvie from Gormanville, N.S., are believed to be the most siblings from one family, from either North America or the British Commonwealth, to serve in World War II.

    • A massive fire broke out in downtown Langley Saturday morning, destroying a restaurant and forcing several other businesses to close.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    • Travelling on a budget can be stressful, but there are ways you can ensure you're getting the best deal on flights as the holiday season approaches.

    • A five-seat sushi counter located inside another restaurant is the latest Vancouver eatery to receive a Michelin star.

    Sports

    Autos

    • A Pickering, Ont., student going to college to be a mechanic is shocked the engine in his two-year-old car will not be repaired under warranty after the dealership claimed he had been 'over-revving' the engine.

    Local Spotlight

    Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.

    From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.

    A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.

    The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.

    A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

    Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north

    What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.

    The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

    New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.

    • The calculus of predicting an election and identifying its key battlegrounds is complex enough in any race, but observers of the British Columbia poll this month are facing a pair of unknown quantities that make the math even more confounding.

    • One person is dead after the driver of a pickup truck hit a bench where two people were waiting for the bus in Surrey Saturday afternoon, police have confirmed.

    • A massive fire broke out in downtown Langley Saturday morning, destroying a restaurant and forcing several other businesses to close.

    • The Ontario Science Centre is set to launch two temporary satellite locations in other parts of Toronto, which could let visitors access some of its interactive exhibits while a full interim location remains at least a year away, 麻豆传媒 has learned.

    • Leo Campana's stoppage-time goal gave Inter Miami a 1-0 win and left Toronto FC's playoff hopes hanging by a thread Saturday.

    • An investigation is underway after a collision that took place on Deerfoot Trail early Saturday evening.

    • An investigation is underway into a fire and explosion that took place Saturday night in northeast Calgary.

    • Nanton RCMP are on scene Sunday morning at a serious single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway 533 and Range Road 118.

    • Ontario Provincial Police say a man has died after striking obstacles on the St. Lawrence River while driving a personal watercraft.

    • The annual RBC Race for Kids raised $830,000 in support of a historic redevelopment for eastern Ontario's largest children's hospital.

    • Alexandre Look, a 33-year-old Montreal native, was among the concertgoers who were murdered a year ago Monday at the Supernova music festival during a brutal assault on Israel carried out by Hamas militants. He is among at least eight people, either Canadian citizens or with ties to Canada, who died during the Oct. 7 attacks.

    • Police released the identities of the mother and daughter who were killed after a fire tore through a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal on Friday.

    • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent a pointed reply on Saturday to Quebec Premier Fran莽ois Legault's suggestion that half of the asylum seekers already settled in Quebec should be forcibly moved to other provinces.

    • The Saskatchewan Roughriders have clinched a playoff spot thanks to a win over the Edmonton Elks.

    • Highway 39 near Warburg was closed Saturday after a serious crash involving a motorcycle and a van.

    • An estimated four billion birds will navigate man-made environments as they travel south from North America during fall migration. Tens of million of them will die en route due to human-created hazards.

    • RCMP in Sussex, N.B., are asking the public for help locating a missing 61-year-old woman from Wards Creek, N.B.

    • New Brunswick singer-songwriter David Myles is set to go on tour this November after the release of his new album 鈥淒evil Talking."

    • A broken wastewater pipe has prompted Halifax Water to ask Quinpool area residents to reduce water usage while crews make repairs Sunday.

    • It鈥檚 1998. Google was just born, and dial-up was the primary way to connect to the Internet. New sites were being developed daily on any number of topics, from recipes to shopping. David Yanciw, however, was thinking big - big things, that is.

    • Communities outside of the perimeter aren鈥檛 immune to the housing and affordability struggles seen in Winnipeg.

    • As many as 25,000 employees could hit the picket lines as early as Tuesday morning, making it the second-largest strike in Manitoba鈥檚 history.

    • The Saskatchewan Roughriders have clinched a playoff spot thanks to a win over the Edmonton Elks.

    • Saskatchewan's two major political parties made campaign stops in Moose Jaw Saturday with both promising to invest into the city if elected on Oct. 28.

    • A wind warning was issued for parts of southern Saskatchewan, with gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour (km/h) possible in some areas on Saturday, Environment and Climate Change Canada says.

    • The Huron Ontario Provincial Police said they responded to a 鈥渄owned airplane鈥 just after 11 a.m. Saturday.

    • Police say they were called to the area of Simcoe Street and Market Street around 1:30 a.m. Saturday for a report of an assault.

    • The Oktoberfest Parade is fast approaching and organizers are urgently seeking volunteers to fill the role of sign carriers.

    • The Saskatchewan Roughriders have clinched a playoff spot thanks to a win over the Edmonton Elks.

    • The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation hosted a virtual election forum on education Thursday evening, giving candidates in the provincial election a chance to share their thoughts and answer questions on issues teachers find most important.

    • A permanent memorial at the site of the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash is about to be a step closer.

    • NEW

      NEW

      The London Knights continue to get players back from NHL training camps but while the roster takes shape, wins have been tough to come by in the early season.

    • Standardised testing is a great way to see how local students measure up to provincial averages, and following the pandemic, educators had their work cut out for them getting kids back up to speed.

    • OPP are seeking assistance in their search for a 30-year-old man last seen in Orillia.

    • Provincial police are investigating a collision along Highway 400 in Tay Township Friday afternoon.

    • More than a thousand residents attended the Town of Innisfil's inaugural 'InnisFALL' festival on Saturday, which celebrated the spirit of fall with live music and entertainment at Innisfil Town Square.

    • Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

    • Currently, County Road 18 is closed between Briton Road, and Rizzo Nicola Drive while police investigate.

    • The calculus of predicting an election and identifying its key battlegrounds is complex enough in any race, but observers of the British Columbia poll this month are facing a pair of unknown quantities that make the math even more confounding.

    • Police on Vancouver Island have made an arrest in the case of a 78-year-old woman found dead in her home almost two years ago.

    • NDP Leader David Eby is promising to offer a $75-million loan forgiveness program to entice doctors, nurses and heath professionals to expand health-care services in rural British Columbia.

    • Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.

    • NDP Leader David Eby is promising to offer a $75-million loan forgiveness program to entice doctors, nurses and heath professionals to expand health-care services in rural British Columbia.

    • Three young suspects have been arrested in connection with a swarming attack on a teenager in B.C.'s Okanagan last week 鈥 and authorities have asked the public to stop circulating disturbing videos of the incident.

    • While the summer may be over, construction season in Lethbridge is not.

    • Lethbridge police executed dozens of warrants and laid numerous charges in another targeted enforcement project in the downtown area.

    • A person was airlifted to hospital following a serious crash in Taber, Alta., on Friday morning. Taber RCMP responded to the scene on Highway 864 around 10:30 a.m., for a crash involving an SUV and a semi-truck.

    • A drug raid on a home on the Far North Attawapiskat First Nation last week resulted in two local residents being charged and more than $50,000 in suspected narcotics, including methamphetamine, being seized.

    • The Ontario College of Family Physicians has presented awards to 750 doctors based on comments from patients, including eight physicians who are part of the Group Health Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.

    • Two teens, ages 14 and 19, have been charged with arson in connection with a July 14 fire in Cat Lake First Nation that destroyed $500,000 in construction materials.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 麻豆传媒. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow 麻豆传媒