Joker: Folie à Deux, directed by Todd Phillips, came out this past weekend, grossing $37.8 million at the box office upon its debut. It was also the first Hollywood comic book movie to ever earn a D CinemaScore.
Phillips was reportedly on a secluded ranch during the opening weekend, prompting many fans to think he was aware the movie wouldn't fare so well.
As usual, several resorted to commenting online, inundating social media with a flurry of memes and cutthroat remarks. As one user put it:
"Because he knew the movie was a joke."
Several other users chimed in to echo the ridicule.
"bro knew the movie was sh*t and isolated himself beforehand," one user posited.
"Bro knew the movie was trash. Trying to avoid the fallout," yet another stated.
"He didn't want to become the Batman who Laughs," another stated.
"Todd Phillips got pissy that people liked the first Joker movie too much so he made the second one sh*t lmao," one user reckoned.
More and more online seemingly had the same thing to say: Joker: Folie à Deux fell short of expectations.
"Probably for his own good after they realized how bad it was," one user tweeted.
"Knew perfectly well what he had done," yet another reckoned.
"man knew the sequel would stir the pot and noped out to a ranch. guess when you’re playin with joker-level chaos, it’s best to watch from a very safe distance," someone claimed.
A handful of others defended Todd Phillips, pointing out that he was likely on vacation after having worked for months on the project. However, the scores of insults hurled at the movie overpowered such comments.
Todd Phillips' movie dubbed "collective punishment" for audiences
While the sequel to the first Joker movie took up over three times its predecessor's budget at about $190 million, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, the film was projected to open at about $50 to $60 million at the very least, according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, as the movie came out, expectations began declining.
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At the time of writing, the musical film has garnered an abysmal 34% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 39% from audiences, not to mention the influx of less-than-rave reviews online. According to IndieWire, it was "blockbuster filmmaking as a form of collective punishment."
In stark contrast, the first film debuted at about $96.2 million in North America and held the title of top-grossing R-rated film of all time for a good while domestically, per The Hollywood Reporter. It garnered a B+ CinemaScore and 68% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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