It's been quite a year for movies that have absolutely bombed at the box office. But that doesn't necessarily mean people aren't keen to check them out when they appear on the best streaming services – as HBO Max's latest chart-topper proves.
Joker: Folie A Deux has certainly been one of 2024's most talked-about movies – no surprise given the critical acclaim of the original Joker from 2019. This sequel, however, turns a total right-angle – it's a musical in disguise, which was largely hidden in the trailer (see below), and turned off many would-be viewers.
However, that hasn't prevented Folie A Deux's success on HBO Max this December – as the first streaming service to receive the movie. That both critics and viewers alike only scored the movie at 32% on Rotten Tomatoes hasn't been a low enough score to keep streamers away from watching – although that score could well go lower as more people add their thoughts.
The movie follows Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix), AKA the titular Joker, who has been held in Arkham, awaiting trial for his crimes. While that seems to pick up where the first movie concluded, he finds love in Harley Quinn (played by Lady Gaga) and – to quote – "finds the music that's always been inside him".
The misleading nature of the trailer versus the true content of the movie and, of course, its sheer contrast to the original movie, seems to be why the Joker sequel has scored so badly. But, like other bombs from this year, to some extent that makes it all the more enticing.
Rewind, if you will, to Madame Web – another of 2024's most talked-about movies. But in that instance it was just an out-and-out bad superhero flick – and likely Dakota Johnson's lowest career point. There's no veiling in the trailer there, though, so fans knew what they'd be getting – and some loved the so-bad-it's-good nature of it.
Joker: Folie A Deux, on the other hand? Well, there might be no saving its imprint in the movie history books. That HBO Max gets it first is great for US subscribers, of course, while the rest of the world awaits its streaming debut – ultimately to see if it's as much of a disappointment as critics and viewers alike are saying...
