Francis Ford Coppola applauds Todd Phillips' bold approach to 'Joker'

Francis Ford Coppola, director of the struggling film Megalopolis, took to social media to praise Todd Phillips' Joker: Folie à Deux, which is also facing box office challenges. 

Coppola admired Phillips' bold approach to filmmaking.

"Ever since the wonderful The Hangover, he's always been one step ahead of the audience, never doing what they expect," Coppola wrote on Instagram. "Congratulations to Joker: Folie à Deux."

Coppola acknowledged that Phillips' films often surprise audiences, and Joker: Folie à Deux, a musical hybrid, may be ahead of its time. "Congratulations to Joker: Folie à Deux," he reiterated.

Joker: Folie à Deux opened to $20 million on its first day, with projected weekend earnings in the low- to mid-$40 million range, significantly lower than initial expectations. The film received a D CinemaScore, indicating audience backlash.

Coppola's Megalopolis also struggled, debuting with $4 million against a $120 million production budget. Despite this, he found solace in the fact that Joker 2 cinematographer Lawrence Sher cited Coppola's 1981 musical One From the Heart as an inspiration.

Coppola's Instagram post highlighted the shared risk-taking spirit between the two directors. Phillips' Joker grossed $1 billion globally in 2019, but the sequel's unusual musical format may have contributed to its poor reception.