“Joker” is the Most Profitable R-Rated Movie

Despite all the gun violence related controversy prior to “Joker’s” release,Warner Bros. will have the last laugh, as the movie has become the most profitable R-rated movie of all time. Many suspected the movie would perpetrate gun violence in AmericaAccording to Forbes, “Joker” has grossed $937,426,283, and will likely pass the $1 billion dollar-mark soon.

The film had a production budget of only $55 million, compared to “Avengers: Infinity War’s” $315 million. When all is said and done, Joker might end up turning a profit of about $500 million, the same as “Avengers: Infinity War.”

“It’s more of a character study than an action movie… It’s just clown makeup, as opposed to special effects. Not relying on all that high tech stuff helps to contribute to the high profits of the Joker,” AP Macroeconomics teacher Joel Soldinger said. 

If the movie’s success continues, it will be the fourth Warner Bros. DC movie to earn more than $1 billion in global box office sales, behind “The Dark Knight,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Aquaman.” “Joker” could even surpass this amount if it is edited for a PG-13 rating and released in China. 

“Another factor in the Joker’s success was that since the Joker is this non-superhero movie, superhero movie that’s appealing to a more general audience. He is this sort of antihero that we don’t normally get to see,” Soldinger said.

Though Warner Bros. created the film “Joker” to target a smaller audience that wanted to see superhero movies taken seriously, the movie’s release proved quite the opposite. The film attracted people who do not usually watch superhero movies, like sophomore Katie Fernandez. 

“The movie appeals to people who aren’t superhero fans, like myself, because you don’t have to know anything about the other movies to understand ‘Joker,’” Fernandez said. “With every other superhero film you have to know at least some information to not be confused; with ‘Joker,’ you don’t.”

Nothing like it has ever been done in the past. The movie does a full character study on Joker and brings attention to the western world’s inability to deal with the ever-increasing mental health crisis and economic disparity. Regardless of the film’s original controversies, it began a discussion amongst viewers. This drew lots of attention to the film, which in turn brought in considerable monetary success.

Superhero fanatic junior Shane Johnston was especially intrigued. He and his friends waited in line to see the movie on the night of its release.

“Being a big fan of superheroes, I was so excited when the film was announced,” junior Shane Johnston said. “The movie was considerably darker than any other superhero movie I’ve seen and I hope more are done like it in the future.” 

There will likely be films similar in concept to “Joker” in the future. In 2017, Warner Bros. and DC announced that “Joker” would be the first in a series of standalone films set outside the DC Extended Universe continuity. This new sub franchise will soon be known as “DC Black.”

“‘Joker’ took the dark route and it most definitely paid off,” Fernandez said. “The movie is about someone who doesn’t fit in and I think that we can all sort of relate to that at one point or another.”