Francis Ford Coppola comforts Todd Phillips as 'Joker' sequel flails

This is only slightly worse than a grade of D+ Megalopolis when it hit theaters last weekend. Coppola's dystopian epic grossed just $4 million in its debut, against a pre-marketing production budget of $120 million. No major studio wanted to change the film, so Coppola raised the funds himself, including some of his own money. Lionsgate came on board at the last second to distribute the film, which is expected to gross less than $1 million this weekend.

Joker: Folie à Deux – a hybrid anti-hero picture and musical starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga – had no problems being made after Phillips' film. joker grossed $1 billion worldwide in 2019 and received numerous Oscar nominations and a Best Actor award for “Phoenix.” The first joker It cost $55 million to produce before marketing. The sequel netted $190 million to $200 million, raising the stakes dramatically.

When Slide for two When the company first hit the airwaves three weeks ago, it looked like it would be at $70 million. Although the first film still opened with $96 million domestically, it was a respectable number. However, as reviews came in and the film was examined for influences, interest waned and there was a significant decline in tracking. For this weekend, the forecast was $50 million to $60 million.

However, based on Friday's opening day gross of $20 million Slide for two is expected to start in the low to mid $40 million range (a rival studio even has it in the high $30 million range).

As it turns out, joining the D CinemaScore club isn't the only thing Coppola and Phillips have in common.

Coppola said in his Instagram post that he was honored for this Joker 2 Cinematographer Lawrence Sher talks about how Coppola's infamous 1981 musical works One from the heart – a critical and commercial flop that nearly bankrupted his Zoetrope studio – served as the inspiration for Folie à Deux. (In recent years, critics have revisited One From the Heart, turning it into something of a cult classic.)

The reviewers weren't kind to it either Megalopolis or Joker 2which have a critic rating of 46 percent and 33 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.