Joker first R-Rated film to gross $1 billion at the box office!

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Don your brightest red, gold, and green suit, put those negative thoughts away, and prepare to merrily dance your way down a flight of stairs people. Recently we reported that Todd Phillips' JOKER film had become the most profitable comic book movie of all time. Now you can add another accolade to the movie about the Clown Prince of Crime. As of this evening the Joaquin Phoenix star vehicle will cross the fabled $1 billion mark at the global box office. Not only is this the seventh film this year (!) to cross the billion dollar mark, it's the first R-Rated film ever to do so.

JOKER's lucrative return also marks just the fourth time a Warner Bros. film has crossed the billion dollar threshold, the previous three being THE DARK KNIGHT, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, and AQUAMAN. Moreover, it's the first billion dollar film this year not to have the words "Disney" or "Marvel" attached to it. Not bad for a flick whose budget was a modest $62.5 million and many labeled as a "dangerous" movie. So dangerous in fact that fans have gone out in droves to duplicate the Joker dance at the Highbridge stairwell in the Bronx.

All snark aside, this feat cannot be overstated. As much as I loved JOKER, the fact that people continue to show up to watch a dark, bleak, character study of one man's descent into madness astounds me. ENDGAME this movie a'int. Just goes to show that you can't underestimate or predict what audiences are going to respond to. Hopefully this will encourage more studios to take risks with these independent solo projects without the pressure of creating a cinematic universe or setting up a sequel.

Although JOKER took home the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year, it remains to be seen if the comic book juggernaut can carry over that same success to award season. Phoenix's spectacular performance is obviously a sure thing for multiple nominations, but you also can't ignore Lawrence Sher's brilliant cinematography or Hildur Guonadottir's phenomenal score. Here's hoping Todd Phillips' film gets all the accolades it has coming.

JOKER is currently in theaters everywhere.