It’s now been two weeks since Todd Phillips’ Joker received a wide release, and so far, the film seems well on its way to becoming one of the year’s biggest box office hits. On top of that, a new article from Forbes is now suggesting that the Clown Prince of Crime’s standalone flick could end its run in cinemas as the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time.
At the time of writing, Joker’s global total sits at $619.5 million, having overtaken the likes of Logan and Phillips’ own The Hangover Part II to become the sixth biggest R-rated feature ever released. By the end of the weekend, however, it’s expected that the movie will cross the $700 million mark, passing The Passion of the Christ and the 2017 It movie in the process. After that, the only films left to beat will be The Matrix Reloaded ($742 million), Deadpool ($783 million) and Deadpool 2 ($735 million, or $785 million including the PG-13 Once Upon a Deadpool re-release).
That being said, it’s perhaps worth noting that 2017 Chinese action flick Wolf Warrior 2 reportedly took in $854 million worldwide, and though the feature never received an MPAA rating, the film’s extreme violence would certainly put it on an R-rated level. This arguably makes Wolf Warrior 2 the movie to beat, though Forbes speculates that Joker has a good chance of doing just that.
While it remains to be seen if this violent, controversial work can make a splash of its own in the China market, it’s clear either way that all the discourse surrounding Phillips’ divisive film is paying off big. What’s more, we’ll find out if the DC brand can sustain this success when Birds of Prey hits theaters on February 7th, 2020.