The Joker sequel is heading home after less than a month in theaters

After bombing at the box office, Joker: Folie à Deux is fast tracking its way to a home release.

by Charles Pulliam-Moore

Oct 22, 2024, 8:43 PM UTC

A woman wearing clown-like makeup and a blazer standing an elevator.

Warner Bros.

Charles Pulliam-Moore is a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

Joker: Folie à Deux has been in theaters for less than a month, but Warner Bros. has already set a home release date for the box office bomb.

Gizmodo reports that Joker: Folie à Deux will be available for purchase on digital platforms starting on October 29th, with a DVD / Blu-ray / 4K physical release to follow on December 17th.

Though Warner Bros. envisioned Todd Phillips’ Joker sequel replicating the first film’s success, the DC Comics-inspired musical failed to meet expectations both critically and commercially. Between its $200 million production budget and the $100 million Warner Bros. spent marketing the film, its projected box office totals — $65 million domestically and somewhere between $210 million to $215 million globally — made it a huge loss for the studio.

A lot more people are probably going to wind up seeing the film specifically because it’s coming out so soon after its buzzy (and ultimately disappointing) theatrical release, but it feels like Warner Bros. just wants to get it over with before its next wave of expensive comics tentpoles.

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