The Joaquin Pheonix-led Joker is slated to surpass a billion in the box office very soon. This comes as both a shock and not a shock to fans and critics. The film lacked a lot of marketing that other movies in the billionaire’s club had. In place of the pushy marketing, major media publications pedaled it as a “dangerous movie” and could possibly cause another theater shooting.
This isn’t the first thing Joker has accomplished. Alongside becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film, it also turned into the most profitable comic book movie period. Technically, the film has yet to hit a billion, according to Forbes it’s teetering at $998 million.
Joker also saw itself with a reported eight-minute standing ovation during its premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Todd Phillips also saw his film win the Golden Lion during the festival, too.
The movie tells the tale of a disgruntled Authur Fleck, a failed comedian, who feels ostracized and outed from society. He finds himself descending into madness and turning into the Joker.
Despite only being out for seven weeks, the movie has surpassed the previous winner for the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time. The previous record-holder was 2018’s Deadpool 2 with its $785 million.
