It’s been a few months since Todd Phillips’s Joker: Folie à Deux tap-danced its way into theaters, and Lady Gaga is finally ready to talk about the sequel’s hostile reception. Speaking with Elle for an in-depth look into her mind and astonishing career path, Lady Gaga chalks Joker 2’s failure up to people having different tastes, and pleasing everyone with your art is something of an impossibility.
“People just sometimes don’t like some things,” Gaga acknowledged. “It’s that simple. And I think to be an artist, you have to be willing for people to sometimes not like it. And you keep going even if something didn’t connect in the way that you intended.”
I’ve not seen Joker: Folie à Deux, so I cannot speak to its quality first-hand. Still, smoke on the street suggests Warner Bros. and Todd Phillips’s bold decision to make the sequel a jukebox musical was perhaps ill-advised. Todd Phillips’ musical sequel earned $204M worldwide, paling compared to the original’s staggering $1B+ blockbuster performance. Opinions differ significantly about the film’s quality (depending on who you talk to). However, most say they feel betrayed by the follow-up, saying it lacks the spirit of the original. Regardless of how you think about the film, money talks in Hollywood, and right now, the Joker sequel comes off like a bad joke. When the film failed to launch above expectations (or remotely close), WB announced a digital release date less than a week into the drama’s theatrical run. Unfortunately, reports say the PVOD release also crashed and burned, leaving WB with an unexpected bomb.
Thankfully, Joker 2‘s failure is unlikely to haunt Lady Gaga as she continues exploring her Hollywood options. She’s a talented performer on stage and screen, with several rock-solid performances. I like the idea of taking chances in Hollywood, and Joker: Folie à Deux was undoubtedly one of those. I hope the film’s failure doesn’t discourage WB or other filmmakers from taking wild swings with bankable properties. You never know what you might get if a studio goes “off script,” and to discourage that behavior is dangerous for creativity.
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