Warner Bros. Joker continues its hot streak with jaw-dropping international earnings and confirmation it's one of the studio's most successful DCEU movies to date. Joker, which stars Joaquin Phoenix and is directed by Todd Phillips, offers up an alternative take on the origins of the notorious Batman antagonist who we've seen in countless other iterations. But Phillips' and Phoenix's combined take on the Clown Prince of Crime's origins has led to massive success with audiences, resulting in the movie now holding the record for the best October opening weekend ($93 million) and the best October Monday earnings ($9.72 million).
The latest report from Warner Bros. indicates Joker is doing even better overseas than it is here i the U.S., which is major, to say the least. By the end of Sunday, October 13, Joker had cemented itself as a box office gold, crossing the half a billion mark in its global earnings — $548.3 million, to be exact. Focusing solely on the international figures contributing to this total, Joker made a total of $125.3 million from the 24,555 screens it was shown on. It's bringing in double-digit millions in every international market it's playing in right now, with the biggest earners beings the UK ($36.9M), Mexico ($28.6M), Korea ($27.9M), and Russia ($20.4M). Warner Bros. is also reporting that Joker's opening weekend (the weekend of October 11) in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland was the biggest ever for a DC film. Joker has barely stumbled internationally, with a 29% dip overall in earnings from the first weekend to the second, an impressive feat.
And while we're on the subject of Joker smashing some DCEU records, Warner Bros. offered up those facts and figures in their latest report, too. As far as the European totals are concerned, Joker has now surpassed the lifetime cumulative totals of Logan, Justice League, and Wonder Woman — a true feat especially considering each of these respective movies have earned similar praise and high regard from critics, fans, or both. In Asia, Joker is giving The Dark Knight, IT: Chapter Two, and Logan a run for their money, smash each film's respective cume.
So, what do all these facts and figures mean really? Well, as far as Warner Bros. is concerned, there could be a goldmine of potential here. Despite the coy response from Phillips about whether a Joker sequel could happen, Warner Bros. could urge them to strongly consider it. The money already made here is more than enough to predict more could be gleaned from prospective audiences in the future. Or, Warner Bros. could see the value in considering other one-off, character study-like movies of other DC Comics characters. In the Batman canon alone there are tons to choose from, not to mention the entire DC world overall.
Either way, these second week international earning indicate Joker is going to be an even bigger success than we could have ever predicted and it's still so early in its theatrical run. I wouldn't be surprised if Warner Bros. starts dreaming bigger and planning more around the Joker model based on these promising international numbers. Nor will I be surprised when this movie continues to rake in the dough in the coming weeks.
Joker is currently in theaters. If you've already seen the movie but still have some questions, check out our Joker ending explainer for more information.