Even if Joker: Folie à Deux doesn’t do well — which seems unlikely — Lady Gaga will still be laughing all the way to the bank.
Variety reports that the budget for the Todd Phillips-directed film has soared to $200 million — pretty hefty, considering the first Joker film only cost $60 million. That budget includes the salaries of the two stars: Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix.
According to Variety, Phoenix is getting $20 million to reprise the role that won him an Oscar, while Gaga is making $12 million to play Harley Quinn. That’s an increase from the reported $5 million to $10 million she earned for A Star Is Born, the movie that earned her an Oscar.
The original Joker film earned more than $1 billion, but Variety says Folie à Deux may be a harder sell because it’s a musical. Then again, it’s a musical starring one of the world’s most famous pop singers, so perhaps that will make it more palatable.
Joker: Folie à Deux is set to arrive in theaters on October 4. It’s not clear if Gaga will release the new music she’s been teasing before or after the movie comes out, or if she’s written any music for the film.
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