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How to watch Joker: Folie à Deux at home — the sequel is now streaming
Todd Phillips' ambitious sequel and box office dud Joker: Folie à Deux seeks to find a new audience this week with its official streaming debut. Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, the film was met with some rough reviews upon its theatrical release. Streaming is a different ball game, though, and could be the platform that finally puts the divisive film in front of the right audience.
If you missed the Joker sequel in theaters, it's officially available to stream as of Friday, Dec. 13. Here's everything you need to know.
What is Joker 2 about?The musical sequel to the 2019 supervillain origin story, Joker: Folie à Deux sees Joaquin Phoenix reprise his role as clown-faced criminal Arthur Fleck slash Joker. Now institutionalized at Arkham State Hospital and awaiting trial for his crimes, Joker meets fellow patient Lee Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga). Sharing his affinity for violence and mayhem, sparks fly immediately. Most of the film then sees Arthur enduring a trial while escaping into his imagination to sing, frolic, and go on murderous sprees with Lee.
Joker 2 also stars Oscar nominees Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener, alongside Zazie Beetz, reprising her role from the first film.
Check out the official trailer below:
Is the Joker sequel worth watching?There are some sequels that get it right, like Smile 2 and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and there are others that swing and miss. We found that Joker: Folie à Deux is the latter — and we're not the only ones. Or, as Mashable's reviewer Kristy Puchko wrote, "This sequel feels like a punishment."
On Rotten Tomatoes, the Joker sequel has just a 32 percent critic and audience rating. Its box office debut was largely a flop. Warner Bros. sources claim the film needed to make $375 million worldwide to break even; its worldwide box office tally peaked at $206 million.
Of course, like every other film, whether it's worth watching is subjective. You might love it. It could end up becoming a cult classic years from now. If you're a Gaga fan, you'll probably want to watch it simply for her star power. For what it's worth, several big names actually praised Joker 2, including Quentin Tarantino and John Waters, so it can't be that bad.
Check out our full review of Joker: Folie à Deux.
How to watch Joker: Folie à Deux at home Credit: Warner Bros. PicturesThe Joker sequel became available to watch at home via video-on-demand sites like Prime Video and Apple TV as of Oct. 29. You can purchase the film for your digital collection or rent it for 30 days. If you'd rather stream it instead, keep scrolling to learn more about its streaming debut.
Note: Renting a film gives you 30 days to watch and just 48 hours to finish once you begin.
You can purchase and rent the film at the following retailers:Prime Video — buy for $12.99 (save $7)
Apple TV — buy for $12.99 (save $7), rent for $5.99
Fandango at Home (Vudu) — buy for $19.99, rent for $5.99
YouTube — buy for $19.99, rent for $5.99
Google Play — buy for $19.99, rent for $5.99
$19.99 Save $7.00 Watch Now Is Joker 2 streaming?
As a Warner Bros. film, Joker: Folie à Deux is set to make its streaming debut on Max, the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamer on Dec. 13. Yes, that's Friday the 13th (what could go wrong?). The original Joker film from 2019 is also streaming on Max, so you can make it a double feature. Max subscriptions start at $9.99 per month, but there are a few ways you can save some money on your plan. Check out the best Max streaming deals below.
Best Max streaming deal for most people: Save 16% on Max with ads annual subscription Opens in a new window Credit: Max Max (with ads) yearly subscription $99.99 per year (save 16%) Watch NowIf ads aren't a deal breaker for you, Max will only cost you $9.99 per month. You can easily just sign up for a single month, watch Joker 2 and whatever else you want to within that time frame, then cancel before you're charged for another month. Or you could save some money by sticking around for the long haul. An annual plan with ads will run you $99.99 per year, which breaks down to just $8.33 per month instead — about a 16% savings compared to the monthly plan. The only downside is that you have to splurge on a full year upfront.
Best Max deal with no ads: Save 16% on a Max Ad-Free annual subscription Opens in a new window Credit: Max Max (No Ads) annual subscription $169.99 per year (save 16%) Watch NowCan't stand ads interrupting your viewing experience? You have two options to choose from: Max Ad-Free and Max Ultimate Ad-Free. The basic ad-free tier costs $16.99 per month, while the Max Ultimate tier costs $20.99 per month. However, we recommend choosing a yearly plan instead, as you'll save about 16%. It'll only cost you $169.99 per year (about $14.17 per month) for Max Ad-Free or $209.99 per year (about $17.50 per month) for Max Ultimate.
Note: Both tiers offer an ad-free viewing experience, but the Ultimate tier takes things a step further with 4K Ultra HD video quality and Dolby Atmos immersive audio.
Best Max deal for Cricket customers: Free Max with ads for customers on the $60/month unlimited plan Opens in a new window Credit: Cricket / Max Max (with ads) Free for Cricket customers on the $60/month plan Watch NowIf ever there was a reason to sign up for Cricket Wireless, here it is: Cricket customers on the $60 per month unlimited plan get Max with ads for free (a $99.99 value). If you're on the $60 per month plan, just head over to the Max app (or navigate to Max.com), choose Cricket as your provider, and enter your credentials to log in. Then you're free to watch whatever you want, whenever you want — including Joker: Folie à Deux if you choose. Peep the terms and conditions on Cricket's website to learn more.
Best Max deal for students: Save 50% on Max with ads monthly for one year Opens in a new window Credit: Max Max Student $4.99 per month for 12 months Get DealCollege students can get 50% off a Max monthly subscription with ads for an entire year, dropping the price down to only $4.99 per month. As long as you can verify your student status through UNiDAYS, you'll get a unique discount code that lets you knock half off the full price of Max.
Best bundle deal: Get Max, Disney+, and Hulu for up to 38% off Opens in a new window Credit: Disney / Hulu / Max Disney+, Hulu, and Max $16.99 per month (with ads), $29.99 per month (no ads) Get DealIt may not be the cheapest way to watch Joker 2, but you can definitely get more bang for your buck by snagging the bundle deal that includes Max, Hulu, and Disney+. Enjoy all three libraries with ads for only $16.99 (reg. $25.97) per month or ad-free for $29.99 (reg. $48.97) per month, which is up to 38% in savings.
The Game Awards 2024 big announcements: Elden Ring, Witcher, and more
The 2024 Game Awards took place in Los Angeles' Peacock Theater on Thursday night, with developers travelling from across the globe to celebrate this year in video games.
Now in its 10th year, The Game Awards have become known for new game announcements and previews as much as they are for celebrity appearances, weird marketing stunts, and forcing timid game developers to awkwardly deliver speeches in front of thousands of people.
Here are all the biggest announcements from The Game Awards 2024.
SEE ALSO: 'Split Fiction' hands-on: A co-op adventure through sci-fi and fantasy worlds The Witcher IV announced, almost a decade after last gameThe 2024 Game Awards started out strong with the announcement of The Witcher IV from CD Projeckt Red. The fourth game in the Witcher series, The Witcher IV will break from its predecessors by following former supporting character Ciri rather than previous protagonist Geralt — and it looks as though she's shaping up to be just as formidable a monster slayer as he is.
The Witcher IV will be a single-player open-world roleplaying game though, with CD Project Red stating that it "marks the beginning of a new saga with Ciri as a protagonist." This project is the studio's first new game since 2020's Cyberpunk 2077, and the first new title in the Witcher series since The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in 2015.
Elden Ring co-op spin-off Elden Ring: Nightreign unveiledConsidering how popular FromSoftware's Elden Ring was in 2022, it's unsurprising that we're getting more games in the same universe. What is surprising is that Elden Ring: Nightreign will be a three-person co-op action survival game, and is a spin-off rather than a sequel. Fortunately it will also support singleplayer, so you won't always need to wait for your friends to play.
Elden Ring: Nightreign will have players work together to survive the "everchanging" land of Limveld and level up one of eight characters, each of whom have their own special abilities. Survive for three days, and you'll have to face the dangerous Nightlords.
Though the game will have many of the same weapons and enemies found in Elden Ring, the world will be different in every playthrough. New key locations, enemies, and weapons will appear or shift around in each new game, FromSoftware stating that players will have to overcome "the map itself."
Elden Ring: Nightreign is currently planned for release on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC in 2025.
Untitled game from Shadow of the Colossus developer teasedWe don't even know the title of this game, but its pedigree already makes it one that many people will want to keep an eye on. The Game Awards offered a brief glimpse at a new game from genDESIGN and its founder Fumito Ueda, the creator behind notable titles such as Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian.
Borderlands 4 offers official first lookBorderlands 4 was previously announced with a teaser trailer in August, but now we have our official first look at 2K Games' next entry in the popular franchise.
The new first-person loot shooter will pick up after the events of Borderlands 3, when — spoiler alert — Siren Lilith averted a disastrous collision by teleporting Pandora's moon Elpis to an unknown location. It turns out that said location was the atmosphere above Kairos, which did not do great things for the protective barrier surrounding the planet.
Borderlands 4 positions players as a Vault Hunter searching for treasure, wealth, and glory after crash landing on Kairos several years later. It may not all be hedonistic self-interest though. Players will contend with The Timekeeper, Kairos' ruthless dictator and leader of an army of synthetic soldiers known as The Order. Also opposing him are the Rippers led by their formidable Queen Callis, making the situation on Kairos volatile to say the least.
The game will support solo players as well as co-op games, with two-player local split screen or up to four players online. Borderlands 4 is scheduled to arrive on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2025.
New Virtua Fighter game from Yakuza's studio in developmentVirtua Fighter is a hugely influential fighting game series. Considered the first ever 3D fighting game, the game has informed and inspired numerous others since its first title was released in 1993. Even so, there hasn't been a new Virtua Fighter game since Virtua Fighter 5 in 2007. This is about to change.
SEGA announced a new Virtua Fighter game during Thursday's Game Awards, this time led by Like a Dragon/Yakuza developer Ryu Ga Gotoku. In a subsequent livestream, SEGA President and COO Shuji Utsumi revealed that the original Virtua Fighter team has also returned to work on the game for the first time since 2006.
"For a number of years now, we have been working on this project together with the Virtua Fighter developers as a united team," said Ryu Ga Gotoku director Masayoshi Yokoyama (translated from Japanese to English). "[It will] incorporate the game technologies that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has built and refined over the years, as well as Virtua Fighter's signature full-contact action systems."
The Last of Us developers reveal retro sci-fi game Intergalactic: The Heretic ProphetThe Game Awards traditionally end with "just one more thing," a big, exciting reveal to close out the night. This year that reveal was a brand new game in a brand new IP from The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog, offering a cool '80s retro sci-fi aesthetic.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet follows bounty hunter Jordan A. Mun (Tati Gabrielle), who pursues her latest target to the mysterious planet of Sempiria. Nobody has left Sempiria's orbit in over 600 years, with all communication from it having gone dark. Now Jordan must keep her wits about her and fight hard if she wants to be the first person in six centuries to escape.
The sci-fi adventure game will be scored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who have previously provided the soundtracks for films such as The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl, and Challengers.
We don't know much else about Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet yet. However, Naughty Dog Studio Head Neil Druckmann states that it "lives up to the Naughty Dog tradition of creating an emotional, character-driven epic journey," and that it will be "the deepest gameplay in Naughty Dog’s history."
Astro Bot won Game of the Year 2024For many gamers, The Game Awards' main appeal is its slew of new game reveals. Even so, the event is technically an awards ceremony, with one game ultimately taking home the title of Game of the Year.
The 2024 Game Awards' Game of the Year went to platformer Astro Bot, developed by Team Asobi. Though Astro Bot and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth led the nominations with seven each, the former took home the most trophies after winning Best Game Direction, Best Action/Adventure Game, and Best Family Game as well.
