Joker Movie Opening To Record Number Theaters For October

Joker, the new Todd Phillips film that follows the origin story of Batman's biggest foe, finally hit theaters last night and already topped Venom's previous Thursday night October record. The movie earned $13.3 million last night, beating Venom's $10 million from last year. It's no surprise Joker now holds the October preview night record as it's also the October release being seen on the most screens. As of today, Joker is playing in 4,374 theaters, whereas Venom opened in 4,250 theaters last year.

In a previous report, Deadline predicted Joker would earn a little less than $82 million this weekend due to its R-rating (Venom was PG-13), but since Halloween (2018) had a pretty impressive R-rated opening last October with $76.2 million, they believe it's possible for Joker to reach their $90 million goal. That report also noted the top R-rated box office openers based on comic books, which are Deadpool ($132.4M), Deadpool 2 ($125.5M), Logan ($88.4M), 300 ($70.9M), and Watchmen ($55.2M).

Joker was met with mostly positive reviews when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it earned the festival's top prize. However, the film's Rotten Tomatoes score dropped down to 78% once it was screened again at the Toronto International Film Festival, and now it's reached 69%. Despite the mixed reviews from critics, the audience score remains fairly high. Comicbook.com's own Brandon Davis loved the film, calling it an "insane masterpiece." You can read the full review here.

Joker also stars Zazie Beetz (Sophie Dumond), Robert De Niro (Murray Franklin), Brett Cullen (Thomas Wayne), Frances Conroy (Penny Fleck), Marc Maron (Ted Marco), Douglas Hodge (Alfred Pennyworth), Josh Pais (Hoyt Vaughn), Bryan Tyree Henry, Bryan Callen, Shea Whigham, and Glen Fleshler. You can find the official description for the movie below:

"Drama. Joker centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. The exploration of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a man disregarded by society, is not only a gritty character study but also a broader cautionary tale."

Joker is now playing in theaters everywhere. Other upcoming DC Movies include Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.