Lady Gaga – Seventh Album

[wavey.]

[wjr15]

Harlequin is a nice lil side project but it’s not really something I’d revisit often. There’s a few songs that clicked with me on first listen. I’m really looking to LG7 because the few previews Gaga gave us sounded good and she won me back with Chromatica, which is still listen to often.

Also, Judas is a masterpiece and should’ve been bigger than it was.

[MyLastView]

I enjoyed this! It’s a nice album to put on in the background while getting work done or cleaning or just to lift the mood (for the most part lol). Her vocals are really the star here - she sounds phenomenal. Still mostly seated for LG7 but I’ll definitely be giving this some plays in the meantime.

[Push The Button]

Damn, those are rough numbers. It’s possible Joker 2 won’t gross in total what the first movie made in its opening weekend.

[NeRD]

What was the budget for the film?

[ampersand]

Sept 29, 2024 6:56:50 GMT -5 NeRD said:

What was the budget for the film?

$200 million, apparently.

[NeRD]

Sept 29, 2024 8:07:45 GMT -5 ampersand said:

Sept 29, 2024 6:56:50 GMT -5 NeRD said:

What was the budget for the film?

$200 million, apparently.

Oh. Horrible numbers, then.

[SPRΞΞ]

Sept 29, 2024 6:09:10 GMT -5 Push The Button said:

Damn, those are rough numbers. It’s possible Joker 2 won’t gross in total what the first movie made in its opening weekend.

I mean, why would it? It's a musical. Str8 men aren't going to see this in droves, lbr. This is a niche movie. This isn't Beetlejuice 2.

[Enigma.]

Who buys movie ticket weeks before the opening? I've never done that.

[ampersand]

The studio was stupid to give this film such a large budget. The first film's budget was less than half of that $200 million total. I don't think anyone expected the original to be as successful as it was—the sequel, especially with such a strange concept, was always going to have an even smaller, niche audience (as Spree said). I guess the studio thought the girls and gays would make up for the portion of the original film's straight male audience that would turned off by the musical aspect, but us gays have never been a reliable demographic lmao.

The reception out of Venice was mixed at best, but at least Gaga is getting rave reviews. So even if the film flops, she'll still come out smelling like roses. I will be there opening weekend, though. Love the Batman universe.

[Love Plastic Love]

The decision making was just really weird for Joker 2. Not only did they make it a musical, which I don't think appeals to the Joker 1 crowd, but they also bloated the budget somehow to the size of a Marvel movie with special effects needed throughout. Like, I don't get it and I haven't gotten it since it was first announced lol.

[👑 Eloquent ™]

Sept 29, 2024 9:58:56 GMT -5 Love Plastic Love said:

The decision making was just really weird for Joker 2. Not only did they make it a musical, which I don't think appeals to the Joker 1 crowd, but they also bloated the budget somehow to the size of a Marvel movie with special effects needed throughout. Like, I don't get it and I haven't gotten it since it was first announced lol.

This this this. When I found out it was a musical, I was like...what better way to successfully kill the film's chances at success? The director is clearly trying to go for some avantgarde, artistic, deep, character exploration once again, but is in the process shooting himself in the foot. If you want a successful film it's all about knowing what your audience is wanting and with the Joker people want action, intensity, insanity. They wanna see Joker and Harley sweep Gotham into their madness, not go on some further deep psychological examination of the dynamics of their relationship (especially when the first was based entirely off character analysis and this was supposed to be the payoff, the climax for the first snail-paced film). And a musical? You have a very, very specific crowd who enjoys musicals and it isn't likely the same bunch that's eyeing a Joker film. This is gonna leave a lot of people disappointed, but it's the director at the end of the day. Had he approached this with a Nolan-style part two, he would have succeeded (yes it is the most obvious, predictable path, but it's the one people wanted to walk). It's not as if he couldn't have combined his vision and also gave in a bit for fans. Then again, maybe this film will surprise me and I'll like what he's done with it, but from everything I am seeing, it's a pass through no fault of GaGa's.

[Choco]

Sept 29, 2024 9:13:34 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Who buys movie ticket weeks before the opening? I've never done that.

Comic book fans i.e. the target audience for Joker 1.

They might have made the campaign way too clear about it being a musical full of old slow covers so they scared those guys off tho.

Reviews are also bad and Joker 1 was polarizing in a way that meant not everyone was always gonna come back for sure.

[clsvltn]

Depending on how the early showings do, the opening weekend can increase. I know a lot of people are cautious about this to see how reactions are from the Thursday crowd. If it has positive word of mouth it can cause people to go out.

[Enigma.]

Sept 29, 2024 12:22:01 GMT -5 Choco said:

Sept 29, 2024 9:13:34 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Who buys movie ticket weeks before the opening? I've never done that.

Comic book fans i.e. the target audience for Joker 1.

They might have made the campaign way too clear about it being a musical full of old slow covers so they scared those guys off tho.

Reviews are also bad and Joker 1 was polarizing in a way that meant not everyone was always gonna come back for sure.

I can see that, yeah, however, in my country people cannot even buy tickets for next weekend yet in most cinemas. The screenings are usually determined on Tuesdays. I think it depends on the country...

[shakemaki]

Sept 28, 2024 13:51:52 GMT -5 Rose "Payola" Nylund said:

Sept 28, 2024 13:03:04 GMT -5 shakemaki said:

I definitely agree with the sentiment shared in here already that this was framed poorly. It’s essentially Cheek to Cheek: Solo Edition, not some high concept character album with her playing Harley Quinn.

I wish she would've marketed it a bit more in line with the Bennett albums, though I get that it’s still tied to Joker so obviously she couldn’t just leave that out of marketing.

All of the artwork around it though couldn’t possibly seem more wrong for what this album actually is, for example.

I don’t see this as in line with the jazz albums at all. I guess they’re all jazz but this one is more showtunes and to me, so much more vibrant and fun than those albums, which were classic and clean. It would have been a mistake marketing this as like those. Granted, using “the joker” as the advance sample was a bit misleading too, given it’s the only song that has a rock tinge to it, but that was still theatrical and is closer in sound to the rest of Harlequin than anything from her jazz albums.

Yeah I realize it’s not jazzy like those albums, but it is mostly just covering old standards like those. So in essence it feels like a third part to the Bennett albums to me. The marketing to me gave dark, brooding concept album done from the mind of Harley. It’s not that at all, it’s very mellow and light. And I feel like given what we know of the Harley character, it doesn’t seem like these songs would really be from her pov either.

[Push The Button]

Sept 29, 2024 12:31:41 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Sept 29, 2024 12:22:01 GMT -5 Choco said:

Comic book fans i.e. the target audience for Joker 1.

They might have made the campaign way too clear about it being a musical full of old slow covers so they scared those guys off tho.

Reviews are also bad and Joker 1 was polarizing in a way that meant not everyone was always gonna come back for sure.

I can see that, yeah, however, in my country people cannot even buy tickets for next weekend yet in most cinemas. The screenings are usually determined on Tuesdays. I think it depends on the country...

Event movies always do big presale numbers. That’s how box office forecasts are predicted. If movies overperform from presales it’s because of “walk up” business, aka people who buy tickets either at the kiosk or just before the showtime.

[Choco]

It's not entirely catastrophic if the film drops from 95 to 65 million on opening weekend but sequels are usually more frontloaded which suggests the overall gross is gonna be significantly lower at the end.

[Maximillian]

Look, the film may not do great, but I doubt it will lose money after worldwide numbers come in and you factor in at home rentals down the road. Certainly a lot of “wtf” decisions on this but I think the studio will probably break even eventually.

[Enigma.]

Yeah, China and India put together have like 8 x US population alone so if it's a success there, it'll make nice profit for Warner.

[Choco]

Sept 30, 2024 9:14:37 GMT -5 Maximillian said:

Look, the film may not do great, but I doubt it will lose money after worldwide numbers come in and you factor in at home rentals down the road. Certainly a lot of “wtf” decisions on this but I think the studio will probably break even eventually.

Oh no need to guess. It needs around 450 million worldwide to break even. I think even at 60mill opening stateside it can get there if the international markets carry it hard. China is tricky because the studio gets about 50% of the box office everywhere... except China where it's closer to just 20%.

They allowed the budget to rise too much though. The first one cost 70million. Sure give Joaquin and Todd Phillips a raise, and pay Gaga her millions but that's still leaving them with over 100 million of budget for... the musical numbers I guess?

[Enigma.]

Cannot wait to see the movie - very interesting how it divides people based on the early screenings.

[Ivy Leegue™]

Sept 29, 2024 9:13:34 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Who buys movie ticket weeks before the opening? I've never done that.

You'd be surprised, especially for major releases that are highly anticipated, which...this doesn't seem to be? Meanwhile, I saw shows for The Substance listed as sold out or with very limited seats a couple weeks before the movie even premiered. It depends on the theater and market, but it's VERY common in Austin. I'm still seeing this in IMAX on Saturday though. Despite the reviews being even lower than Joker (FAD has a 54 and Joker had a 59), I expect to enjoy it.

[ObhiDonna]

She is teasing a Harlequin set list on Instagroom!! Apparently there is a taping which happened tonight in LA?

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

Personally I love the Harlequin project and it's a nice little gift to fans until the new album comes.

But I don't give 2 craps about seeing the movie. I thought the first movie was fine, nothing amazing. the sequel isn't something that I (or I think most people) were clamoring for. I might rent it when it goes on streaming, or maybe I'll just wait for it to hit MAX. Either way, I'm not in a rush to watch.

[Ryan]

[Envoirment]

Finally able to hear after being ill and "The Joker" *_* Love it. Even wish she went even harder on it. The background head voice vocals at the end *_*

"Happy Mistake" is really pretty as well.

The rest of the album is nice and her voice sounds fantastic but aside from "The Joker" & "Happy Mistake" I won't be taking/re-listening to anything else from the album.

A great album to add to her legacy and compliment her role in Joker: Folie à Deux!

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Cool!

http://instagram.com/p/DAjR8FCSXMN

[Ryan]

[Enigma.]

Hope it becomes a hit!