The commercial failure of Joker 2 does not worry Denis Villeneuve

Does the flop of Joker: Folie à deux signal the end of arthouse blockbusters? The Dune director disagrees.

How many millions will be lost Joker: Folie à deux at Warner? It is still too early to measure the consequences of its flop, but at the time of writing, the film Todd Phillips with Joaquin Phoenix And Lady Gaga only grossed $56 million in the US (for a worldwide total of 190 million), while it would have cost nearly 200 million… We are far from the billion dollars brought in by the first Joker in 2019. A flop, therefore, and some are sounding the alarm: journalists believe that this failure could sound the death knell in Hollywood for “arthouse blockbusters”, big-budget films over which filmmakers have real creative control. But Denis Villeneuve does not agree. Met by Première in Paris last week, just after receiving the medal of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by Minister Rachida Datithe director of both Duneperfect examples of “auteur blockbusters”, says he is optimistic.

“In the history of cinema, there are as many failures as there are successes. It's part of the game, cinema is not a very stable sphere of activity. Each film is a gamble, a risk. The year last, with the successes of barbie And Oppenheimerpeople were talking about the renaissance of the arthouse blockbuster, and there because of Joker 2 would that be his death? No, no, no… I'm not worried at all.”the filmmaker tells us. “It's the nature of the beast: there is an element of risk, but that's precisely where the game is worth the candle. Great successes always come from new visions. I don't believe that Los Angeles can to do without auteur cinema: it's the source…”

Paul Schrader pays for Joker: Folie à deux, “a very bad musical”

Joker: Folie à deux is not the only example of failure of an expensive arthouse film in 2024 in the USA: we can also add the first part ofHorizon by Kevin Costner And Megalopolis by Francis Ford Coppola to the list of victims. “It’s unfortunate, but when a filmmaker makes a film that doesn’t work, that doesn’t meet its audience or that is poorly received by critics, it’s bad for everyone”adds Villeneuve. “Honestly, we would all have liked Coppola to triumph, for his film to be magnificent… We want people to succeed because the more it works, the better!”

Megalopolis and Joker 2, same fight? Coppola supports Todd Phillips

If the director of Godfather supported Todd Phillips via an Instagram message, the issue is still different from that of Jokersince Costner and Coppola produced their films with their own money to create them as they wish. When we talk about arthouse blockbusters, “there is a relationship to control, but also to constraint”explains Villeneuve. “I think filmmakers have always had their creativity stimulated more with a framework. Being completely free, that must be scary! There was also a financial pressure on Apocalypse Now, which there wasn't on Megalopolisin my opinion. Megalopolis is a “free” film, in a way…”

That said, Denis admits that he saw neither Megalopolisneither Horizonbut he tells us that he wants “absolutely” see them on the big screen. Without forgetting to go back to work on Arrakis: Villeneuve is in full preparation for Dune Messiahhis third and final film Dune which will conclude the saga of Paul Atréides.