‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ did not perform as well as its predecessor during its opening weekend in theaters.
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Conway Gittens: Stocks took a breather Monday after posting four straight weekly gains. Higher bond yields and oil prices weighed on sentiment. Mideast tensions and a re-think of how quickly the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates were also factors. In addition, investors are also gearing up for the start of earnings season.
On Tuesday, Pepsi will kick things off with its quarterly results. Wall Street will also keep an eye on Amazon’s two-day Prime sales event.
In other business headlines: Hollywood is licking its wounds after a high-profile flop. “Joker: Folie a Deux,” tanked in its box office debut. The film, with Joaquin Phoenix reprising the role that won him a Best Actor Oscar in 2020, took in only $40 million in its initial weekend. The first Joker took in $96 million in its 2019 debut. It then went on to rake in $1 billion in global sales and earn 11 Oscar nominations.
This Joker update cost considerably more than its predecessor. The price tag came in at about $200 million, not including marketing spending. In comparison, the original “Joker” cost only $55 million to make.
The failure of “Joker: Folie a Deux” may be a classic case of what can go wrong when experimenting with comic book movies. Hollywood wants to extend the life of the genre after two decades of money-making blockbusters. The 3 Deadpool movies were successful by taking a comedic route. But that wasn’t the case here. While the Joker sequel retains the dark mood of the original, it takes a musical interpretation with Lady Gaga as Joker’s love interest and co-partner in crime.
Hollywood can hardly afford a repeat. Ticket sales are already down 11 percent compared to the same time last year. The industry hopes “Wicked” along with upcoming sequels for “Gladiator,” “Moana,” “The Lion King,” and “Lord of the Rings” can salvage this year’s box office.
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