Arthur fleck says: “hey! What a wonderful kind of day!” as he laughs all the way to the bank the weekend of October 4-6.
There is no surprise just how well Todd Phillips’ Batman villain spinoff, Joker, did at the box office. Ticket buyers showed up in anticipation and curiosity on what the director of The Hangover trilogy would bring to the iconic villain, last portrayed by Jared Leto in Suicide Squad. Of course, it was Heath Ledger’s take that won the Oscar in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Is Joaquin Phoenix in the running for one as well?
King of the Crop: Joker Puts a Smile on
Joker can already claim a few October victories: It’s $39 million Friday beat the record set by 2018’s Halloween, which started with $33 million. Then Joker bested the all-time October weekend record ($93.50 million) set also last year by Venom ($80.25 million), along with Venom‘s Thursday previews top standing ($10 million) by grossing $13.3 million.
Joker is the 77th film to open to $90 million or higher. Not one of them failed to reach at least $200 million and only 11 failed to reach $250 million, including It: Chapter Two which is not going to make it. Believe it or not, of the 206 films to gross over $200 million, only 17 have been rated R — a list that includes two Deadpools, two Its and a pair of Hangovers, directed by Joker‘s Todd Phillips.
