Exclusive: Warner Bros. Box Office Expectations for Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker
John F. Trent
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Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker film has been making waves leading up to its release this upcoming weekend.
I’m now hearing from my source what Warner Bros. box office expectations for the Todd Phillips directed film are.
My source tells me Warner Bros. is expecting the film to have a $90 million domestic opening weekend. They go on to tell me the film is expected to gross $250 million during its run at the box office.
Back in August, Box Office Pro predicted Joker would have a domestic opening weekend between $60 million and $90 million. They tempered their predictions noting they are comparing it more to an R-Rated crime/thriller rather than a comic book blockbuster film akin to a Marvel Studios film or something like Aquaman. However, they did note the film won’t really have any competition when it debuts. Will Smith’s Gemini Man doesn’t hit theaters until a week later.
Just a month later, Box Office Pro would significantly increase their projections. Earlier this month they predicted an opening weekend between $85 million and $105 million with a domestic total of $210 million. In fact, they noted their opening weekend estimate increased 27% from their previous week.
Joker has made headlines for critic reaction to the film and Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix’s response to those critics. That critic reaction has mainly been to lampoon the film for the way the film depicts violence with insinuations that the film could inspire a mass shooter with a number of media outlets exploiting the false narrative that the Aurora, Colorado shooter was inspired by DC Comics’ Joker character. (Related:Valiant Comics Editor Heather Antos Falsely Claims James Holmes Was Inspired by Joker)
When Joaquin Phoenix was confronted with such allegations about the movie by The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin, he got up and walked away from the interview before eventually returning an hour later after a Warner Bros. PR person intervened. (Related: Joaquin Phoenix Walked Out of Joker Interview After Question About Film’s Violence)
Todd Phillips responded to critics by describing them as “bizarre.” He even called out some critics of the film for making judgments about the film without even watching it. (Related: Director Todd Phillips Describes Joker Critics Slamming The Film for Its Violence as “Bizarre”)
“I really think there have been a lot of think pieces written by people who proudly state they haven’t even seen the movie and they don’t need to. I would just argue that you might want to watch the movie, you might want to watch it with an open mind.”
In an interview with TheWrap, Phillips would even call out the “far left” for their discourse in outrage. (Related: Report: Warner Bros. Tells Access Media To Get Lost at Joker Red Carpet)
“I think it’s because outrage is a commodity, I think it’s something that has been a commodity for a while. What’s outstanding to me in this discourse in this movie is how easily the far left can sound like the far right when it suits their agenda. It’s really been eye opening for me.”
What kind of box office haul do you think Joker will have?
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