As Joker enters its fourth weekend at the box office, it is already positioned to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. The Clown Prince of Crime is expected to dethrone Deadpool 2’s record-breaking $785 million worldwide box office haul. In light of the news, Ryan Reynolds won’t be the one dancing on the staircase. He shared his thoughts about his alter-ego being laughed up at movie theaters in October with the below post:
The Merc with a Mouth actor is certainly living up to his name with his fun jab as the crazy success of Todd Phillip’s Joker! After calling him a name in replacement for “Joker” – which he should know not to do considering the movie’s content, he also names off the movie characters who have been bested by the drama’s box office success. Currently, Joker has made $747 million worldwide nabbing the No. 3 spot under Deadpool 2 and Deadpool respectively. Until, it inevitably tops them both!
As the poster references, Joker has already made more money than The Matrix: Reloaded, IT, The Passion of the Christ, Logan, The Hangover Part II (also directed by Todd Phillips), Fifty Shades of Grey and Ted. It’s a sad day for Keanu Reeves’ Neo, Pennywise, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Mr. Grey, a filthy-mouthed teddy bear named Ted and ....JESUS? Joker beat Jesus, folks.
When all is said in done for Joker, the movie is expected to be as profitable as Avengers: Infinity War was last year, with nearly a half-billion in pocket money. The movie may even pass $1 billion at the box office, which has never happened for an R-rated film, ever. These are some serious records Joker is heading into. There was once concern about how much Joker could really make as an R-rated movie and before Deadpool how a more mature comic book film would do with audiences. Arthur Fleck’s unique origin story is certainly putting these questions to rest.
When Joker first premiered at Venice Film Festival, it was met with glowing reviews from critics – many of which calling it a “masterpiece” and an Oscar contender. Ahead of the movie’s opening, controversy surrounding its violent content brought additional press and interest to Joker. It opened to a $96 million domestic debut and remained the No. 1 movie until Maleficent won last weekend by $7 million.
The already iconic character has reached phenomenon status as Joker fans have swarmed the staircase where he dances in the movie for photo oppurtunities. The small budget movie was meant to be a one-off intimate character study but considering its massive success, it will be interesting how Warner Bros decide to do with the Joker character moving forward. Is a sequel inevitable? Or will Joker remain a standalone?
Joker is still in theaters now.
