The Joker train cannot be stopped! In its third weekend, the Todd Phillips film has raked in an additional $US 29.2 million in US and Canada, bringing its North American box office total to $US 247.2 million. That’s a mere 47% drop from last week.
The masterpiece of a film is also doing gangbusters globally. This past week, the film earned an additional $77 million outside of North America, bringing its total to $490 million. This means that in about 17 days, Joker has made more than $737.5 million worldwide ($US 247.2 million + $US 490 million)
The film has already zoomed past Justice League ($US 657 million) and Man of Steel ($US 668 million) to become the 7th highest-grossing DC film of all time. At this point, it will definitely surpass Suicide Squad‘s $US 746.8 million within the next couple of days and then things will start to get very interesting. Wonder Woman and Batman V Superman have both grossed more than $US 800 million while Aquaman, The Dark Knight Rises and The Dark Knight have all grossed more than $US 1 billion each.
Joker has also beaten plenty of Marvel Cinematic Universe films as well, such as Iron Man ($US 585.2 million), Doctor Strange (US$ 677.7 million) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($US 714.3 million) and is inches away from Guardians of the Galaxy’s $US 773.3 million. Other MCU films it has beaten: The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, Ant-Man 1 & 2, Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World. Keep in mind that Joker is an R-rated film, while the MCU movies are PG-13.
But how does Joker fare against other R-rated comic book movies? Well, for starters, the film has already surpassed Logan ($US 619 million) by more than $US 100 million. It is yet to beat Deadpool ($US 783 million) and Deadpool 2 ($US 785 million) but that’s all but guaranteed. Venom‘s $US 856 million will be a tough one to beat but my gut tells me that it will, despite upcoming hurdles from Terminator: Dark Fate (24 October) and Zombieland: Double Tap (31 October).
But lets for argument’s sake say Joker doesn’t make another penny more. It’s still a tremendous accomplishment considering its mere $US 55 million budget which is slightly smaller than Deadpool‘s and almost two times smaller than Venom‘s and Logan‘s. Also, a large chunk of Venom‘s gross profit came from China ($US 269 million), a region Joker hasn’t even been released in yet. (It’s still unclear as of now if Joker will even get a China release.)
Joker has also already surpassed It: Chapter One to be the 5th highest-grossing R-rated film worldwide regardless of genre and will quickly inch past The Matrix Reloaded‘s $US 738 million by the end of the day. Logic dictates that the Joaquin Phoenix starrer ends its run around the $US 900 million mark (which would make it the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time by some distance). But this film has defied box office logic since day one. Don’t be surprised if it becomes the first R-rated film to make $US 1 billion.
