Joker 2’s musical misstep hits local cinemas
Published:Sunday | October 27, 2024 | 12:09 AMSteven Jackson - Senior Business Reporter
Cinema operator Palace Amusement Company has reduced screenings of Joker: Folie à Deux, a film that has underperformed locally and internationally, based on reviews.
Rarely has a film, a super villain action movie set as a musical, been so completely disconnected from its target audience.
Palace operates four cinemas with multiple screens, and blockbuster movies typically run for over a month. However, Joker: Folie à Deux, up to Thursday, has been relegated to one cinema in Montego Bay, according to a source.
The lack of audience engagement has revenue implications for Palace. The company declined to comment for this article.
The film was directed by Todd Phillips and stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck (Joker) and Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel. Its a follow-up to the 2019 smash hit.
Locally, the film experienced a sharp decline in interest after its peak on October 11, when it was the most searched-for movie in Jamaica, according to Google Trends. At that time, it was twice as popular as Deadpool & Wolverine, another action release still showing in cinemas, initially released in July. However, as of last week, Joker: Folie à Deux had dropped to half the popularity of Deadpool & Wolverine, with Smile 2, a horror film, leading in local searches.
The result was vacant seats at the cinema locations run by Palace Amusement. For instance, on Monday at the two-for-one movie night, traditionally one of the busiest times for cinemas, only four people attended the screening of Joker at Cineplex Sovereign in Kingston.
Industry insiders have pointed to creative development issues as the film’s downfall. A veteran movie marketer quoted in the Deadline publication, indicated that this wasn’t a marketing problem but a creative development failure. Many viewers, particularly those who enjoyed the shadowy, gritty nature of the original, found themselves disconnected from the film’s tone and structure. It alienated its core comic book fan base with musical elements and a complex title few can pronounce — Folie à Deux.
The empty seats have implications for Palace Amusement amid a dip in annual revenue, and continuous competition from streaming services such as Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu and others. Financially, Palace Amusement’s revenue for the year ended June 2024 fell to $1.4 billion from $1.5 billion the previous year, while net profit dropped to $60.3 million from $228.1 million.
The Joker film was expected to be a major draw for the September quarter globally, but grossed about US$190 million, or one-fifth of its original film, while also not covering its US$200-million budget. The original Joker cost US$70 million to make and grossed over US$1 billion.
One of the four moviegoers at Cineplex Sovereign in Kingston on Monday admitted to leaving the movie to buy food, returning only for the final scene after sleeping through the last 20 minutes of the first half of the show.
Palace staff, curious about the film’s reception, asked this reporter and the three other patrons, “Did you like the movie?”, but no one really answered affirmatively.