Joker passed the $1 billion mark in global ticket sales this weekend, becoming the first R-rated movie to do so since records began.
Joker is currently number seven on this weekend’s US box office chart, with Le Mans film Ford v Ferrari topping the chart with takings of $31m. Even the latest Charlie’s Angels movie could only manage to secure a spot in third.
The reboot, which stars Kristen Stewart and UK actresses Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska, took $8.6m between Friday and Sunday; a fairly strong start by anyone’s standards, yet Joker grossed $93m on it opening weekend, 10x more.
It has now reached $1bn despite not being released in China, where overseas releases with too much sex or violence can be blocked. Its closest competitors are Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 2 ($785m) and its 2016 predecessor Deadpool ($783).
Today is the day that #Joker shatters the $1,000,000,000 mark at the global #boxoffice! Totals at the start of today were $317M domestic, $682.1M intl & $999.1M worldwide. Absolutely jaw-dropping achievement for an R-rated film with a moderate budget and no China release.
— Gitesh Pandya (@GiteshPandya) November 15, 2019
Director Todd Phillips made the movie on a budget of $62.5m, which is a very small amount compared to this years other most popular films.
