A new report details James Gunn’s involvement inJoker: Folie à deuxand who’s to blame for the film’s disastrous box office opening weekend. The firstJokerwas a surprise success, grossing over $1 billion on a relatively small budget. Unfortunately,Joker 2performed well below expectationsin its opening weekend and may lose money due to its $200 million budget. It only grossed $37.8 million domestically and $114.8 million worldwide, but word of mouth is so low that it likely won’t get any better.
While Gunn and Peter Safran run DC Studios, the pair are not toblame forJoker 2’s failure. According toThe Hollywood Reporter, Gunn and director Todd Phillips emphasized “they did not work together on the project.” Gunn clarified on social media that the DC logo didn’t appear in the film’s opening credits “because it’s not a DC Studios film.” It seems as if the DC Studios co-CEO is separating himself from this project, and it’s likely the right decision before the DCU begins.
What The Joker 2 Report’s James Gunn Comments Mean
Gunn Clarifies That Joker 2 Is Not His Fault
The DCU is officially set to begin in 2025 with James Gunn’sSuperman, andJoker 2is the final remnant of the old DC regime. It’s wise for Gunn and Safran to distance themselves from this flop as it was green-lit before they were hired.Joker 2was announced in July 2022, while Gunn and Safran didn’t become the co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios until October of that year. The Hollywood Reporter stated thatwhenJoker 2was green-lit, “DC was in a state of near-chaos"as the DCEU was slowly crumbling.
Joker 2 Box Office Numbers: Total, Worldwide, Domestic, Opening & Records
Joker: Folie à Deux has been released worldwide to some interesting box office numbers, raising questions about the franchise’s future.
The firstJokerwas meant to be a one-off, but a sequel was green-lit after it made $1 billion. The report suggests that the studio gave Phillips complete creative control with little feedback from Gunn or anyone else at Warner Bros.Joker 2exists as an Elseworlds project, meaning it is not a part of the DCU nor Matt Reeves' Batman universe. Gunn’s comments indicate that it won’t impact his vision for the DCU, and he also had no creative input into this project.
Our Take On The Joker 2 Report’s James Gunn Comments
Gunn Wants The DCU To Be A Clean Slate
Gunn and Safran have had several bombs under their regime, but they were all projects that had been completed or in development before they came aboard.Films likeThe Flash,Shazam: Fury of the Gods, andBlue Beetlewere all part of the DCEU and were released after Gunn announced the DCEU was ending. Their failures, along withJoker 2, aren’t Gunn’s fault and the blame should be pointed at the studio executives who mishandled all these projects.
Gunn’s comments are an attempt to distance his DCU fromJoker 2,as he wants the DCU to start without any controversy.Supermanis incredibly important to DC’s future success and audiences can’t have the stench of this film bleeding into that one.Joker 2would not have impacted the DCU regardless of its quality, but Gunn clearly wants nothing to do with it.
