Joker Is Second-Biggest Opening Weekend Since Wonder Woman
Joker opened on Friday in theaters and the film proved to be a big victory for Warner Bros. Joker is Warner Bros.’s second-largest opening weekend in over two years after Wonder Woman opened $103 million in June 2017. The success of Joker comes with the constraints resulting from a score, and in the midst of controversy and security concerns surrounding the movie.
Joker, the R-Rated Film
The film is a grounded, R-rated story of origin for the Joker, the archnemesis of Batman. Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, who descends into insanity and emerges as the Joker. Joker is the clown-faced murderer. Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, and Marc Maron are also the stars of the film. Todd Phillips directs the film.
Polar reviews for the film
The film is proving polarizing with critics. ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis calls the film a masterpiece is his 5-star review. He wrote, “Whether or not Joker is a social commentary on issues such as poverty or mental illness, a new and mysterious take on the best known DC Comics villain, or just another unforgettable piece of cinema which producer Martin Scorsese is attached to, you’ll need to see to believe it and, even then, you still might not believe it.”
Phoenix has avoided classifying Joker as a traditional superhero or blockbuster movie. “I wouldn’t quite classify this as like any genre,” Phoenix said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a superhero movie, or a studio movie or a … It feels unique, and I think more than anything, and probably the most important thing, is Todd seems very passionate about it and very giving, and so that’s exciting.
Phoenix’s words about the film
“I think, underneath the excitement of these films, and the size of them, there are these incredible characters that are dealing with real-life struggles. I always felt, like, there were characters in comics that were really interesting and deserve the opportunity to be kind of studied. And so I think that’s what Todd sees appealing about this idea.”
