Joker to Have Record-Breaking Opening Weekend at the Box Office

Joker is set to break records in its opening weekend. The film is on track for a $94 million opening weekend at the box office. That's more than enough to surpass the October opening weekend record set by Venom last year when it debuted to $80 million. Joker already broke the October Friday box office record by earning $39.8 million on its first day in theaters. It is also a career-best opening for director Todd Phillips, whose previous high opening was The Hangover 2's $85.9 million. It's also an opening weekend record for star Joaquin Phoenix, whose previous high mark was $60.1 million for Signs in 2002.

Joker is a grounded, R-rated origin story for Batman's archnemesis, the Joker. Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, who descends into madness and emerges as the clown-faced killer known as the Joker. The film also stars Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, and Marc Maron.

The film is proving polarizing with critics. ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis calls the film a masterpiece is his 5-out-of-5 review, writing, "Whether or not Joker is a social commentary on issues such as poverty or mental illness, a new and mysterious take on the best known DC Comics villain, or just another unforgettable piece of cinema which producer Martin Scorsese is attached to, you'll need to see to believe it and, even then, you still might not believe it."

Last week's top film, the animated feature Abominable, moves into second place this weekend with $12 million. The Downton Abbey movie movies into third place, adding $8.4 million to its total, which now stands at $74 million. Hustlers takes fourth place, earning $6.2 million and bringing its total to $91.2 million. It Chapter Two rounds out the top five with $4.9 million for the weekend, bringing its total to $201.7. Keep reading to this weekend's top ten at the box office.