Joker breaks the all-time October opening day record at the box office. For a while now, the film has been expected to do very well commercially. As far back as August, early projections had Joker pegged for a debut in excess of $70 million, a higher debut than fellow DC adaptation Aquaman. That was before Joker took home the Golden Lion at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and spawned numerous controversies over its depiction of gruesome violence and handling of its themes. All that buzz did was make people more interested to see the film when it finally opened to the general public this past Friday.

Over the past couple of weeks, all signs have pointed to Joker breaking the October opening weekend record, surpassing the mark set by Venom only a year ago. The film wasted no time leaving a mark at the box office, storming out of the gates during its lucrative Thursday night preview screenings. And now, Joker has already staked claim to one of the multiple records it’s looking to break during its run.

According to The Wrap, Joker earned $39.9 million domestically on Friday (including $13.3 million from the aforementioned preview showings), setting a new October opening day record. The film is now poised for an opening weekend total of as much as $93 million, which would be a new all-time best for director Todd Phillips.

Joker getting off to this kind of start isn’t all that surprising. Putting aside the familiarity of the character and the Clown Prince of Crime’s standing in pop culture, the conversation surrounding the film sparked curiosity. The backlash and outrage surrounding Joker was arguably beneficial, as many people wanted to see what all the fuss was about and if it was indeed deserving of all the criticism. Additionally, Joker looks to be one of the year’s biggest awards contenders, with Joaquin Phoenix a Best Actor frontrunner due to his chilling and transformative performance as Arthur Fleck. Cinephiles were no doubt intrigued, especially since Joker promised to be a very different kind of comic book film. It’s more Martin Scorsese than Avengers in its approach and execution.

This is great news for Warner Bros., as the studio was having a rather up-and-down year at the box office. IT Chapter Two was a hit back in September, but some of WB’s other high-profile offerings like The LEGO Movie 2 and Godzilla: King of the Monsters didn’t make much of an impact. Joker arrived at the perfect time and gave WB the commercial draw they needed. What’s more is that since Joker was relatively cheap to make (especially when compared to other comic book adaptations), it’ll turn a profit in no time at all.

More: Joker’s Ending Explained

Source: The Wrap

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