DC films produced by Warner Bros. are constantly being compared to the MCU, usually to the former’s disadvantage. But the tide appears to be slowly turning. Last year, Aquaman cleared a cool billion at the box office and now, Joker has hit another milestone by making as much money for Warner Bros. as Avengers: Infinity War did for Disney.
According to a report by Deadline, Joker, which was made on a modest budget of $60 million, has earned over $745 million at the box office. On the other hand, Avengers: Infinity War made over $2 billion worldwide, but against a budget of $300 million. The difference in what it cost to produce each is what allows the two films to have a comparable profit ratio.
In fact, while Avengers: Infinity War ended its run a while back, Joker is still alive and kicking in theaters. That means it’s quite likely that the origin movie about the Clown Prince of Crime will end up being more profitable than IW. There’s also a very good chance that Joker will soon replace Deadpool as the highest-grossing R-rated flick of all-time. Suffice it to say that the risk Warner Bros. took by green-lighting the movie has more than paid off.
The question now is how the success of Joker will affect future DC films. There are already rumors swirling that a standalone Lex Luthor feature is in the works, while fans have also made it clear that they’ve fallen in love with Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of the Clown Prince, which makes it more than likely that the studio is going to rush to produce a sequel with him, provided Phoenix is willing to return. Though it seems like he is, from what we’ve been told.
Most importantly, however, Joker has proven that a film based on a comic book character doesn’t need to have explosions and big budget CGI to be able to succeed, thereby hopefully encouraging greater experimentation within the genre in the years to come.