Even though fans are well aware of why Joker: Folie à Deux's box office turned out to be a failure, a Warner Bros. executive weighs in on the debate, putting the blame on Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn for turning fans away from the sequel.
WB Exec Claims Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn Didn't Connect with Fans in Joker 2
The majority of DC fans never asked for a Folie à Deux in the first place, especially one that involved Joker and Harley Quinn's seeming love story recreated in Todd Phillips' version of Gotham City.
Despite initial backlash, many found Lady Gaga's performance of The Cupid of Chaos 'demure' enough to not steal the spotlight from Arthur Fleck, especially since the ending had nothing to do with her.
Lee Quinn's involvement in the sequel, however, affected one of WB's executives more than it should have.
Warner Bros. President of Domestic Distribution Jeff Goldstein recently responded to the debates surrounding what truly 'flopped' and ruined the potential of Joker 2.
Goldstein weighs in on it in a conversation with Wall Street Journal, where he said that the bombed box office record didn't perform the way they envisioned it, "The movie didn't land with audiences the way we wanted it to."
He suggested that Folie à Deux may have purposely struggled to climb on top given how Gaga's Harleen Quinzel didn't connect with DC fans as it should have.
According to Goldstein, Joker's core male audience turned away from the Grammy-winning singer's performance.
Keep in mind that Joker: Folie à Deux is purposely a musical to showcase the "music living in Arthur Fleck's imagination."
While others would find musicals a distraction in the DC Universe, the music in Joker 2 is merely happening in the main protagonist's head as a continuing portrayal of Arthur's mental illness.
However, as the executive claimed, there is also the possibility that the sequel they intended to create with Todd Phillips was not exactly the kind male DC fans would find themselves enthralled to watch with their popcorn.
READ NEXT: DC Fans are Convinced WB Purposely Set Up Joker: Folie à Deux For Box Office Failure
In the meantime, Joker: Folie à Deux is showing in theaters everywhere.
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