Venice 2024: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga get 10-minute standing ovation at 'Joker: Folie a Deux' premiere

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga with director Todd Phillips, who last appeared on the lido with ‘Joker’ five years ago, winning the festival’s Golden Lion award, were congratulated by an ecstatic theatre crowd at the Sala Grande, receiving an incredible 10.5-minute standing ovation

Todd Phillips' directorial musical psychological thriller film Joker: Folie a Deux received a standing ovation at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. It was a moment of pride for the ace director and the film stars, Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga with director Todd Phillips, who last appeared on the lido with Joker five years ago, winning the festival's Golden Lion award, were congratulated by an ecstatic theatre crowd at the Sala Grande, receiving an incredible 10.5-minute standing ovation.

Throughout the ovation, the audience occasionally erupted in yells of "Ga-ga, Ga-ga, Ga-ga!" During interruptions in the chants, others exclaimed, "Gaga, we love you!". The actor-singer thanked and blew kisses to fans when she wasn't being made to giggle by her co-star throughout the applause.

The first Joker was a huge success, both critically and commercially. It was nominated for 11 Oscars, with Joaquin Phoenix winning Best Actor and Hildur Gudnadottir winning for Original Score. It became the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever.

Phoenix reprises his role as Joker in the sequel, and Lady Gaga joins as Harley Quinn. The supporting cast includes Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, and Harry Lawtey. Zazie Beetz returns as Sophie from the first film. The sequel is said to be a musical, building on Phoenix's dancing scenes from the original. The first instalment earned over 1 billion dollars at the worldwide box office and bagged Phoenix a best actor Oscar.

Phillips shared during the press conference ahead of the premiere that "it feels correct" to be back in Venice debuting his sequel, but he conceded that making the follow-up made him "more nervous."

"It's a lot easier to come into something as an insurgent than it is as the incumbent," he said. "There's definitely a sense of more nervousness with this second one." Gaga plays Lee, who eventually becomes Harley Quinn, a patient in Arkham State Hospital, a mental institution where Phoenix's Arthur Fleck is a maximum-security inmate. When Arthur, who is awaiting trial for the murder of five people, joins a music therapy group, they quickly develop a romantic relationship. Lee recognises Arthur as the Joker and attempts to reawaken his alter-ego.