Updated Numbers Confirm Maleficent 2 Took Down Joker at the Box Office

After a slower weekend at the box office, reports initially suggested Joker returned to the top of [...]

By Adam Barnhardt

After a slower weekend at the box office, reports initially suggested Joker returned to the top of the leaderboard, slightly edging out Disney's Maleficent: Mistress of Evil in what most would call a virtual tie. Now that studios have updated official box office numbers, it doesn't appear that's the case. In a new report from the box office-tracking pros at Exhibitor Relations, the Maleficent follow-up ended up grossing $19.3 million this weekend while Warner Brothers' Joker tallied $19.2m in box office receipts, giving the Angelina Jolie-starring film an advantage of just over $100,000. It had been initally reported Joker brought in $18.9m while Maleficent 2 settled around $18.54m.

That said, Joker will still end up being the major winner between these movies. The film is already the highest-grossing R-rated movie to ever hit theaters and has grossed over $851m worldwide against a reported production budget of $55m. Maleficent 2, on the other hand, was supposed to be Disney's October tentpole. To date, the film has only grossed $294.8m worldwide, a whopping 77.8 percent of which has come internationally.

Despite controversial beginnings between security concerns and a director railing against "woke" culture, Joker will likely go down as one of the year's most profitable movies, likely already having $700-some million. In fact, some industry insiders have suggested it's already made a bigger profit than Avengers: Infinity War, a Disney-owned movie that had a budget six times that of Jokers.

"Todd Phillips's bold, creative vision is evident in every frame of 'Joker,' matched only by Joaquin Phoenix's incomparable interpretation of this iconic character," Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich said in a statement as soon as the movie crossed $800m. "What they and everyone who worked on this film created has clearly resonated with audiences worldwide. We congratulate them and our colleagues at DC on reaching this extraordinary benchmark, and I personally want to congratulate the entire Warner Bros. team on the roll-out of this film."

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Joker continue their box office runs. Other upcoming DC films 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.

How many times have you seen either Maleficent 2 or Joker in theaters? Let us know in the comments below!

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