Director Quentin Tarantino said he really enjoyed the Joker sequel despite the film’s commercial failure, as reported by Guard. He noted that the producers used the budget in a way that matched the film’s audacious mood and broad, unorthodox tone, rather than chasing conventional formulas for success.
“And I’m nihilistic enough to enjoy a movie that doesn’t really work as a movie and looks more like a big, giant mess. And I didn’t see it as an intellectual exercise. It really caught my attention,” the director explained his impressions, speaking in candid terms about a project that divides opinion and piques conversation among fans and critics alike.
Earlier reports noted that the pre-release metrics for Joker 2 were roughly half of what the original achieved, suggesting the sequel might face challenges in reaching break-even expectations. The box office conversation around the film reflected a shift in audience appetite for audacious takes on a familiar character, with many weighing the film’s ambition against its commercial metrics.
The first Joker drew global attention, earning about $1.07 billion worldwide from a modest budget of $65 million. Madness for Two, the follow-up, carried a substantially larger budget and was anticipated to push the tonal and visual boundaries further, with industry chatter centering on how the sequel would balance spectacle with character-driven psychology.
The world premiere of Joker: Madness for Two took place on October 4, 2024. The sequel is directed by Todd Phillips, who also helmed the original film. The story centers on Arkham Asylum as its primary setting, and it features Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix in lead roles. The project also included Brandon Gleason, Zazie Beetz, Catherine Keener, and Jacob Lofland among its cast, presenting a mix of familiar faces and new additions that fans were eager to see on screen.
Earlier reports described a man resembling the Joker who was seen in Poland during a home fire incident, a detail that circulated in local outlets as a possible copycat scenario. The incident added another layer to the ongoing public conversation around the character’s cultural footprint and the way the franchise is perceived across different regions.