Lady Gaga breaks silence on Joaquin Phoenix-starrer Joker 2 box office failure: 'You have to be willing for...'

Joker: Folie à Deux, or simply Joker 2, was one of the most anticipated Hollywood releases in 2024. The musical psychological thriller featured Joaquin Phoenix reprising his role as the DC comics supervillain Arthur Fleck aka Joker from the 2019 film, while the singer-actress Lady Gaga was introduced as his love interest Harley Quinn.

While Joker became the first R-rated film to gross over $1 billion at the box office worldwide in 2019, its sequel Joker: Folie à Deux was rejected by the audiences and critics. Made in around $200 million, Joker 2 was a commercial failure and just earned $207 million at the box office globally. It became one of the biggest Hollywood flops last year.

Now, in her latest interview, Lady Gaga has shared her thoughts on the poor reception of Joker 2. Speaking to Elle, the singer-actress said, "People just sometimes don't like some things. It’s that simple. And I think to be an artist, you have to be willing for people to sometimes not like it. And you keep going even if something didn’t connect in the way that you intended. When that makes its way into your life, that can be hard to get control of. It’s part of the mayhem."

Directed by Todd Phillips, who also helmed the first part, Joker: Folie à Deux has also received the most nominations for the 45th Golden Raspberry Awards or the Razzies. It has been nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor, Worst Actress, Worst Screen Combo, Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel, and Worst Screenplay. The winners will be announced on March 1.