{"id":233860,"date":"2019-10-08T02:17:14","date_gmt":"2019-10-08T06:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=233860"},"modified":"2019-10-08T18:20:11","modified_gmt":"2019-10-08T22:20:11","slug":"joker-laughs-its-way-to-october-box-office-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/10\/08\/joker-laughs-its-way-to-october-box-office-record\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Joker’ laughs its way to October box office record"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: Los Angeles Premiere of #JokerMovie (Photo<\/a>: jokermovie\/Instagram<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 The filmmakers and studio behind \u201cJoker\u201d have reason to put on a happy face. Despite concerns over its violent themes and ramped up theatre security, audiences flocked to the multiplex to check out the R-rated film this weekend resulting in a record October opening.<\/p>\n

Warner Bros. said Sunday that \u201cJoker\u201d grossed an estimated $93.5 million in ticket sales from 4,374 screens in North America. The previous October record-holder was the Spider-Man spinoff \u201cVenom\u201d which opened to $80 million last year. Internationally, \u201cJoker\u201d earned $140.5 million from 73 markets, resulting in a stunning $234 million global debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a much larger result at the box office than we had ever anticipated globally,\u201d said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution. \u201cPutting records aside, we’re just thrilled that audiences are embracing the movie as strong as they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since debuting at the Venice Film Festival where it won the prestigious Golden Lion last month, \u201cJoker\u201d has been both praised and criticized for its dark spin on the classic Batman villain played by Joaquin Phoenix. The film from director and co-writer Todd Phillips was always seen as a bit of a gamble with one of the studios’ most valuable pieces of intellectual property, hence its modest-for-a-comic-book-film $55 million budget.<\/p>\n

But in the weeks leading up to its release, hype and uneasiness intensified beyond how audiences would react to placing this character in a realistic and unambiguously adult setting with \u201cTaxi Driver\u201d undertones. Responding to anxiety that the film might have the potential to inspire violence, multiple theatre chains banned costumes or reaffirmed earlier policies regarding masks and authorities in numerous cities said they were stepping police patrols around theatres. Some relatives of the 2012 Aurora movie theatre shooting even asked Warner Bros . to commit to gun control causes \u2014 the studio said it always has.<\/p>\n

While some worried this would impact the box office, it did not ultimately detract audiences from turning out opening weekend; the box office surpassed industry expectations and may rise even higher when weekend actuals are reported Monday. Although the film got a B+ CinemaScore from opening night audiences, the studio is optimistic about its long-term playability.<\/p>\n

\u201cSixty-six per cent of the audience was under the age of 35,\u201d Goldstein said. \u201cThat tells you that the audience will expand out with that younger group as time goes on.\u201d The younger audience also gave the film a more favourable A- CinemaScore.<\/p>\n

Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for box office tracker Comscore, said that the convergence of critical acclaim and controversy actually helped the film become bigger than expected at the box office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s the ultimate water-cooler movie right now,\u201d Dergarabedian said.<\/p>\n

He added that it was important that \u201cJoker\u201d was always marketed as a \u201cvery dark, R-rated film.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt always had an element of mystery and danger surrounding it,\u201d Dergarabedian said. \u201cIf it were a G-rated film, controversy like this would not be a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the landscape of R-rated comic book films, \u201cJoker\u201d is nestled between \u201cDeadpool\u201d and its sequel, both of which opened over $125 million, and \u201cLogan,\u201d which launched with $88.4 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoker\u201d was the only new wide release this weekend, which is down from last year when both \u201cVenom\u201d and \u201cA Star is Born\u201d opened. Holdovers populated the top 10: The more family friendly \u201cAbominable\u201d landed in second place with $12 million in its second weekend and \u201cDownton Abbey\u201d took third in its third weekend with $8 million.<\/p>\n

With awards buzz behind it, the Judy Garland biopic \u201cJudy,\u201d starring Renee Zellweger, added nearly 1,000 screens this weekend and placed seventh with $4.5 million from 1,458 locations.<\/p>\n

And in limited release, Pedro Almodovar’s critically acclaimed \u201cPain and Glory\u201d launched on four screens to a solid $160,087. Less fortunate was the Natalie Portman-led astronaut drama \u201cLucy in the Sky\u201d which earned only $55,000 from 37 theatres resulting in a dismal $1,500 per screen average.<\/p>\n

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.<\/p>\n

1.\u201dJoker,\u201d $93.5 million ($140.5 million international).<\/p>\n

2.\u201dAbominable,\u201d $12 million ($24.6 million international).<\/p>\n

3.\u201dDownton Abbey,\u201d $8 million ($6.6 million international).<\/p>\n

4.\u201dHustlers,\u201d $6.3 million ($1.9 million international).<\/p>\n

5.\u201dIt Chapter Two,\u201d $5.4 million ($5.6 million international).<\/p>\n

6.\u201dAd Astra,\u201d $4.6 million ($7.3 million international).<\/p>\n

7.\u201dJudy,\u201d $4.4 million ($1.9 million international).<\/p>\n

8.\u201dRambo: Last Blood,\u201d $3.6 million ($4.3 million international).<\/p>\n

9.\u201dWar,\u201d $1.5 million ($2.9 million international).<\/p>\n

10.\u201dGood Boys,\u201d $900,000.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Comscore:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cJoker,\u201d $140.5 million.<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cMy People, My Country,\u201d $100.7 million.<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cThe Captain,\u201d $100.4 million.<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cThe Climbers,\u201d $30.1 million.<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cAbominable,\u201d $24.6 million.<\/li>\n
  6. \u201cAd Astra,\u201d $7.3 million.<\/li>\n
  7. \u201cGemini Man,\u201d $7 million.<\/li>\n
  8. \u201cDownton Abbey,\u201d $6.6 million.<\/li>\n
  9. \u201cThe Most Ordinary Romance,\u201d $6.6 million.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    10. \u201cIt Chapter Two,\u201d $5.6 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    LOS ANGELES \u2014 The filmmakers and studio behind \u201cJoker\u201d have reason to put on a happy face. Despite concerns over …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":233057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106,54365],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-233860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","category-instagram","mauthors-lindsey-bahr","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233860"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233861,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233860\/revisions\/233861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}