In a rather incredible turnaround for a movie that Warner Bros. didn’t even initially want to make in the first place, Joker will go down as one of the defining films of 2019. Throughout development, many were skeptical that an R-rated, dark and violent origin story for one of popular culture’s most iconic villains stood much chance of securing either critical or box office success, but it would be a huge understatement to say that Todd Phillips’ comic book flick has blown even the loftiest of expectations out of the water.
Despite the swirl of controversy that surrounded the build-up to release, nothing could slow Joker down as it smashed countless records and became one of the best-reviewed movies of the year in the process. Once the tale of Arthur Fleck finally wrapped up a massively lucrative run at the box office, it had become both the highest-grossing R-rated pic in history as well as the most profitable entry the comic book genre had ever seen.
This set it up nicely for the long-rumored awards season push, and even there Joker didn’t disappoint. Months after winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival following the premiere, star Joaquin Phoenix and composer Hildur Guonadottir picked up Best Actor and Best Original Score at both the Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice Awards, making them frontrunners at the upcoming Academy Awards, where Joker became the most-nominated comic book movie of all-time after landing the nod in eleven categories.
To celebrate that success, Joker is now heading back to theaters this weekend for a final seven day run, with Warner Bros. virtually admitting in their official statement that they’re making one more attempt to rustle up even more box office dollars and capitalize on the Oscar buzz, even though the movie is already available on home video.
“With the continued interest in Joker as a result of its recongition during this exciting awards season, we wanted to give audiences the chance to see the film on the big screen, whether for the first time or again.”
Joker has already made $1.069 billion globally, and it seems unlikely that the DC adaptation will come anywhere close to topping the box office this weekend with 1917 still playing well, and Bad Boys For Life set to be the number one choice for audiences looking for a little R-rated action. And while Joaquin Phoenix may be sick of talking about it, it seems he’ll need to keep on discussing his turn as the Clown Prince of Crime for a while yet as it makes a serious play in the major categories at the Oscars.