Despite dire box office predictions from petulant media critics, Warner Brothers’ “Joker” has already broken nine box office records in four days.
The film’s departure from standard superhero fare about one-dimensional characters in skintight pants saving the world from mean white men has been cited as a key reason for its success.
“Joker” is a psychological thriller and character study of an emotionally damaged white male living in an unfeeling dystopia society – a type of film rarely seen in the age of woke capitalism.
Joaquin Phoenix’s compelling portrayal of the birth of Batman’s nemesis has brought moviegoers to the theaters in droves. The film is projected to pass $300 million in gross revenue by late Monday and has broken nine separate box office records.
The records set by Joker include biggest all-time October opening weekend ($96 million), Biggest October international opening weekend ($140.5 million), biggest IMAX opening milestone in October ($16.4 million), and widest October all-time release (4,374 theaters), amongst several others.
It remains to seen if Hollywood will ignore “Joker” during awards season because of media outrage, or if the gritty origin story will start a new trend in superhero films of making them actually watchable.
Gabriel Keane is a culture critic and current events commentator whose work has received widespread acclaim, and is frequently featured in news media and in viral content on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
