Joker

Joker is a 2019 American psychological thriller film directed by Todd Phillips, who also wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver. Based on the DC Comics character, the film stars Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. Set in 1981, it follows Arthur Fleck, a failed clown and aspiring stand-up comic whose bouts of mental illness and nihilism inspire a violent countercultural revolution against the wealthy in a decaying Gotham City. Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz and Frances Conroy appear in supporting roles. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, Joker is produced by Gram Roadshow Pictures, Bron Creative and a joint venture between Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Films.

Phillips conceived the Joker in 2016 and wrote the script with Silver throughout 2017. The two were inspired by 1970s character studies and the films of Martin Scorsese, particularly Taxi Driver (1976) and The King of Comedy (1982), who were initially attached to the project as producers. The film loosely adapted plot elements from Batman: The Killing Joke (1988) and The Dark Knight Returns, but Phillips and Silver otherwise did not look to specific comics for inspiration. Phoenix joined in February 2018 and was cast that July, while most of the cast signed by August. Principal photography took place from September to December 2018 in New York City, Jersey City, and Newark. Joker is the first live-action theatrical Batman film to receive an R rating from the Motion Picture Association.

Released

Joker premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2019, where it won the Golden Lion, and was released theatrically in the United States on October 4. Phillips received polarizing reviews from critics, with critics praising Phillips’ performance. The direction, visual style, editing, musical score and cinematography, while the tone, depiction of mental illness, lack of originality and handling of violence have divided opinion. The film was a success at the box office and set the October release record. It grossed over $1 billion, becoming the first R-rated film to do so and the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2019 during its theatrical run. The film also received numerous accolades. A sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, is set for release on October 4, 2024.

Details

Arthur Fleck, a clown and aspiring stand-up comedian, lives with his mother Penny in crime-ridden Gotham City during the recession of the early 1980s. Arthur suffers from a neurological disorder that causes his random, uncontrollable fits of laughter, requiring medication for which he relies on social services. After Arthur is attacked by street urchins, his colleague Randall gives him a revolver for self-defense. Arthur pursues a relationship with his neighbor, single mother Sophie, and invites her to watch his routine at a comedy club.

Arthur is fired from his job at a children’s hospital when he accidentally discharges the gun despite his explanation that it was given to him by Randall, who denies it. On the subway ride home, still wearing his clown makeup, Arthur is mocked and beaten by drunken traders at Wayne Investments; He fatally shoots two of them in self-defense and kills the third as he tries to escape. Their employer, billionaire mayoral candidate Thomas Wayne, condemned the killing, but protesters began wearing clown masks in Arthur’s image. Budget cuts led to the closure of social services, leaving Arthur without his medication.

Sophie takes part in Arthur’s stand-up routine, which goes badly; He laughs uncontrollably, and his jokes fall flat. Arthur intercepts a letter from Penny to Thomas, alleging that he is Thomas’ illegitimate son, and scolds his mother for hiding the truth. She goes to Wayne Manor, where she meets Thomas’s younger son Bruce, but runs away after an altercation with the family butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Penny has a stroke and is hospitalized. Arthur’s idol, popular late-night talk show host Murray Franklin, presented clips of Arthur’s failed performances on his show and mockingly called him “the Joker”.

Arthur encounters Thomas at a film theater. Thomas tells her that he is not her father and that Penny is not her biological mother. In denial, Arthur goes to Arkham State Hospital and steals Penny’s file, which says she was a narcissist who adopted Arthur while working as a housekeeper for the Owens in the 1950s. Penny then raises Arthur with her abusive boyfriend, who later dies in prison. Penny was sent to Arkham for allowing abuse. Distraught, Arthur enters Sophie’s apartment unannounced. Terrified, Sophie asks him to leave, revealing their relationship to be a figment of Arthur’s imagination. The next day, Arthur Penney died in hospital.

After his stand-up clips go viral, Arthur is invited to appear on Murray’s show. He plans to commit suicide during the broadcast. While creating a clown-inspired persona, he is visited by Randall and another former colleague, Gary. Arthur kills Randall, but spares Gary for his kindness to him in the past. Two detectives investigating Arthur’s involvement in the murders of businessmen chase him down a subway filled with clown protesters. A detective accidentally shoots and kills a protester, sparking a riot, and Arthur escapes.

At the studio, Arthur asks Murray to introduce him as “the Joker”, a reference to his previous mockery. As the show goes live, Arthur makes provocative gestures, tells sick jokes, confesses to murder on the subway, mocks how society abandons the destitute and mentally ill, and scolds Murray for mocking him. After another sick joke, Arthur shoots him in the air. He is arrested, and riots break out across the city. One of the rioters corners the Wayne family in an alley and kills Thomas and his wife, sparing Bruce. Rioters in an ambulance ram the police car carrying Arthur, freeing him; He stands on top of the car, starts dancing to the cheers of the crowd, and smears blood on his face in the form of a smile.

In Arkham, Arthur laughs to himself about a joke while with a therapist, but refuses to tell it, claiming he doesn’t understand it. He leaves a trail of bloody shoe prints as he is chased down a corridor by an orderly.

Cast and characters

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck / The Joker: A mentally ill, impoverished party clown and stand-up comedian neglected by society, whose history of abuse turns him into a nihilistic criminal with a clown-inspired personality. Phoenix was interested in a low-budget “character study” of a comic book character and said the film “feels unique, it’s its own world in some ways and maybe it’s the thing that scares you the most” of his role in the Phoenix film. Lose 52 pounds (23 kg) for
Robert De Niro as Murray Franklin: A talk show host who plays a role in Arthur’s downfall. De Niro said his role in Joker was an homage to his character from The King of Comedy (1982), Rupert Pupkin, a comedian obsessed with a talk-show host.
Jazzy Beetz as Sophie Dumond: A cruel single mother and Arthur’s “love interest”. Beetz, a “huge fan” of Phoenix, said it was “an honor” to costar with him and that he learned a lot from working with him on set.
Frances Conroy as Penny Fleck: Arthur’s mentally and physically ill mother, who previously worked for Thomas Wayne.
Hannah Gross as Young Penny.
Additionally, Brett Cullen portrays Thomas Wayne, a billionaire running for mayor of Gotham. Alec Baldwin was originally cast in the role, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Carrie Lewis Putrello portrays Thomas’ wife Martha, although the character has no lines and is never mentioned by name. Douglas Hodge plays Alfred Pennyworth, the Wayne family’s butler and caretaker, and Dante Pereira-Olson plays Thomas’ son Bruce Wayne, who as an adult becomes the Joker’s arch-nemesis Batman.

Additional cast members include Glenn Fleishler and Leigh Gill as Randall and Gary, Arthur’s clown colleagues; Ufland, a producer on Franklin’s show; Sharon Washington as Arthur’s social worker; Josh Pice as Hoyt Vaughn, Arthur’s agent; Brian Tyree Henry as Clerk, a clerk at Arkham State Hospital; Ben Warheit, Michael Benz and Carl Lundstedt as bankers who harass Arthur; Gary Gulman and Sam Morrill as comedians at an open mic where Arthur performs; Justin Theroux has an unexpected cameo on Franklin’s show as Ethan Chase, a celebrity guest.

Box Office

Joker grossed $335.5 million in the United States and Canada and $738.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.074 billion. It is the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2019 and the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, as well as the first R-rated film to cross the billion-dollar mark. In terms of budget-to-gross ratio, the Joker is the most profitable film based on a comic book, Deadpool (2016) held by Deadline Hollywood estimates that the film netted $437 million, when factoring all costs and revenues together.

In August 2019, BoxOffice Magazine analyst Sean Robbins wrote that he expected Joker to gross $60–90 million in its opening weekend in North America. Upon the film’s premiere, box office predictions predicted that Joker would open to $70–95 million domestically. Later updated to $85-105 million, Robbins suggested that it could open as early as October opening over $100 million and surpass the record set by Venom (2018). However, ComScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarbedian thought the film would open closer to $50 million because it is not a “typical comic-book movie”. Three weeks before release, official industry tracking estimated the film would debut to $65-80 million, with some estimates as high as $90 million. During the week of release, Atom Tickets announced that the film’s pre-sale total exceeded that of Venom and It Chapter Two ($91.1 million debut) and was the second-best-selling R-rated film of 2019 behind The Joker: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Joker opened in 4,374 theaters in North America and earned $39.9 million on its first day of release, including $13.3 million from Thursday night previews, besting Venom’s respective October record. The film also had the biggest October opening of any film, surpassing Halloween (2018). It broke Venom’s record for the biggest opening weekend in October, finishing with a domestic total of $96.2 million. The film set career records for Phoenix, Phillips and De Niro and was the fourth-biggest debut for an R-rated film of all time. The latter record would surpass The Matrix Reloaded (2003), behind Deadpool, Deadpool 2 (2018) and It (2017). It was also Warner Bros.’ Biggest domestic opening in two years. In its second weekend the film fell just 41.8% to $55.9 million, the first and best second-weekend October total (marking the best Gravity (2013) had of $43.1 million in 2013). It earned $29.2 million in its third weekend and $19.2 million in its fourth week, finishing second behind Maleficent: Mistress of Evil both times. After 155 days, Joker’s American theatrical run ended on March 5, 2020, with a final gross of $355.5 million, making it the fourth-highest domestic gross for an R-rated film behind The Passion of the Christ (2004), Deadpool. and American Sniper (2014)

Worldwide, the film was projected to debut to around $155 million, including $75 million from 73 foreign territories. It made $5.4 million from four countries on its first day and $18.7 million from 47 on its second day, for a two-day total of $24.6 million. It greatly exceeded expectations, earning $140.5 million from overseas territories and a worldwide total of $234 million. Its biggest markets were South Korea (a Warner Bros. record $16.3 million), the United Kingdom ($14.8 million), Mexico ($13.1 million) and Japan ($7 million). With this, it became the biggest worldwide opening for an October film. In its second weekend, the film earned an additional $125.7 million worldwide, and $77.9 million in its third. At this point, industry analysts expected Joker to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, with some suggesting it could end its run with more than $1 billion. The film became the highest-grossing R-rated film in its fourth weekend, grossing $47.8 million internationally, and crossed the billion-dollar mark nearly a month after its theatrical release.

About

Directed by	Todd Phillips
Written by	·         Todd Phillips ·         Scott Silver
Based on	Joker by Bill Finger Bob Kane Jerry Robinson characters by DC Comics
Produced by	·         Todd Phillips ·         Bradley Cooper ·         Emma Tillinger Koskoff
Starring	·         Joaquin Phoenix ·         Robert De Niro ·         Zazie Beetz ·         Frances Conroy
Cinematography	Lawrence Sher
Edited by	Jeff Groth
Music by	Hildur Guðnadóttir
Production companies	·         Warner Bros. Pictures ·         Village Roadshow Pictures ·         Bron Creative ·         Joint Effort ·         DC Films
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	·         August 31, 2019 (Venice) ·         October 4, 2019 (United States)
Running time	122 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$55–70 million
Box office	$1.074 billion[

 

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