Joaquin Phoenix set to make 10% of the entire Joker 2 budget as salary

Joker 2, titled Joker: Folie à Deux, is the upcoming movie sequel releasing in 2024, for which the cast and director will reportedly receive hefty compensation. Variety reports that lead actor Joaquin Phoenix and director Todd Phillips are earning $20 million for the film. At the same time, Lady Gaga, the latest addition the sequel, is projected to earn $12 million.

Snaps from Joker 2 (Images via Instagram/@toddphillips, Facebook/Joaquin Phoenix Updates)

The budget for Joker 2 is reportedly $200 million, nearly four times the budget for 2019's Joker. Phoenix's compensation for reprisal as Joker has increased substantially since the original film's release. He was compensated $4.5 million for Joker, which was released in 2019.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Joker 2.

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Joaquin Phoenix acquires 10% of Joker 2's budget of $200 million

Scheduled for release on October 4, 2024, by Warner Bros. Pictures, Variety reports that Warner Bros. has spent nearly $200 million on the sequel for Joker 2—more than double Joker's $60 million production budget. The sequel, contrary to the Joker, will be a musical film with a tricky genre.

Representatives for Phoenix, Phillips, and Lady Gaga have yet to respond to requests for comment.

Joker garnered a huge fan base, reached $1 billion worldwide in box office earnings, and received 11 Oscar nominations (including winning Best Actor for Phoenix), which would demand higher salaries for Phoenix and Phillips. Recently, Warner Bros. suffered a $40 million loss on the Taraji P. Henson and Fantasia Barrino-starring film adaptation of The Color Purple, whose production cost was $100 million.

The most recent film developments were announced one week after director Phillips released new promotional stills featuring Gaga and Phoenix in character. Phillips announced on Instagram in the Valentine's Day post,

"Hoping your day is full of love. 10.4.24."

Phillips accompanied the photographs with a dateline featuring Gotham City, a fictitious locale in DC Comics renowned for being the domicile of the superhero Batman. Adorned in full Joker makeup and a red suit, Phoenix was depicted in the lead image standing next to Gaga as Harley, also adorned in white face paint.

Joker and a jovial Dr. Quinzel were depicted in a black-and-white photograph, touching noses while separated by prison bars. Harley Quinn, who initially debuted on Fox Kids in September 1992 as the love interest and sidekick of the Joker, was developed specifically for Batman: The Animated Series. In 1999, the character began making appearances on the pages of DC Comics.

In the origin story of her comic book, Dr. Harleen Quinzel is a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum in Gotham City who develops an affectionate relationship with her patient, the Joker, and assumes the persona of Harley Quinn to assist him. A third black-and-white photograph depicted Harley and the Joker dancing beneath a massive full moon on a rooftop.

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What can we expect from Joker 2?

Joker 2 will be a musical chronicle that follows the twisted romance between Harley Quinn and Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck/Joker. It alludes to a psychological state wherein two individuals in close physical proximity manifest a shared delusion. The more dominant personalities of the two people frequently cause this condition by infiltrating their minds.

Rarely observed, the disorder typically affects individuals of exceptionally close-knit families, religious communities, romantic partnerships, or both. The title itself alludes to the probable plot of the film. It lends credence to speculations that a significant portion of it will transpire within the renowned Batman setting, Arkham Asylum.

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Joker 2 is scheduled for a worldwide release on October 4, 2024.