Joker Movie Director Celebrates Film Becoming Biggest R-Rated Film Ever

Joker is one of the absolute stand-out stories for Warner Bros. this year as the film continues to [...]

By Aaron Perine

Joker is one of the absolute stand-out stories for Warner Bros. this year as the film continues to smash records at the box office. Today, director Todd Phillips took to Instagram to celebrate his film becoming the biggest R-rated film of all time. This all comes after an amazing start to Joker's theatrical run that has shattered even the lofty projections that some had set for the film. Phillips' work has eclipsed them all, and despite coming up behind Maleficent's sequel last week, the film is still climbing even higher despite all that extra attention. Joker had a modest budget that makes this massive box office even more impressive. The film will undoubtedly be one of the most successful films of the year for any studio. That all transpired before this latest declaration, which should serve to give the film another boost as it navigates the coming weeks. Either way, October was especially good to Joker.

On Instagram the director wrote, "Wow!! Thanks to my wonderful cast & crew and of course, the fans from around the world— for seeing through all the "noise" and SHOWING UP (some more than once)! We are super proud of the film and all your wonderful messages make it that much more special. #Joker worldwide."

His film will end up earning as much in profit as Marvel Studios's juggernaut Avengers: Infinity War. Deadline published those projections this week and there will be more lofty projections as October comes to a close. Those current numbers have Joker earning almost $500 million and currently sitting at $464 million. That number could increase if the international box office stays steady. Four weekends in theaters, and the competition it faced might not have been heavy hitters like the films of the Summer. But, still, those dollars still speak for themselves.

Joker also was reportedly produced for $70 as Deadline wrote recently. But, the studio is disputing the charges that the movie was given a smaller budget in the hopes that Phillips would give up on the project. Also, the $120 marketing promotion points to a concerted effort to knock this one out of the park. Controversy around the film's content, themes, and performances have only powered this showing. Phillips also ignited online arguments with his comments around criticism of the film.

"We didn't make the movie to push buttons," Phillips recently said during an interview. "I literally described to Joaquin at one point in those three months as like, 'Look at this as a way to sneak a real movie in the studio system under the guise of a comic book film'. It wasn't, 'We want to glorify this behavior.' It was literally like 'Let's make a real movie with a real budget and we'll call it f–ing Joker'. That's what it was."

He would later clarify, "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."

Joker is in theaters now. 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.

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