Without a doubt, one of the biggest box office surprises of 2019 is “Joker.” Sure, everyone knew that the film would be popular, as it’s based on a comic book character that has been iconic for decades and the reviews were teasing Oscars back in August. But even with the most inflated projections, no one expected Warner Bros. to have a hit on its hands quite the size of Todd Phillips‘ film.
In fact, according to Variety, based on the film’s modest budget, and despite its high marketing costs, “Joker” might just become one of the most profitable comic book films ever released.
Before we get to the numbers to keep an eye on, it’s important to break down just how well “Joker” has done up until now. The film has a reported budget that is $62.5 million, less than half of what most blockbusters cost. In addition, WB reportedly has spent an estimated $100 million on marketing and promotion for the film. This means, with the most basic box office math (based on the idea that studios take home about 50% of a film’s box office gross), “Joker” would need to earn roughly $330 million to breakeven. You can’t help but laugh at that number considering that, in only 18 days, the film has earned $740 million worldwide.
Keep in mind, “Joker” features no Batman appearance and is most definitely an R-rated film aimed squarely at adults. Both of those facts would lead any studio to expect less-than-stellar box office results. Instead, because of that, “Joker” has thrived.
So, what competition does “Joker” have left in the conversation for “one of the most profitable comic book films?” Well, the current best comparisons in this very select group include the R-rated “Deadpool” ($783 million worldwide) and “Deadpool 2” ($785 million), as well as Sony’s “Venom” ($856 million). All three of those films were made with relatively modest budgets and ended up earning massive worldwide totals.
With “Deadpool” and its sequel clearly just speed bumps in the path of “Joker,” really “Venom” is the only competition. However, when you consider that “Venom” cost almost twice as much as “Joker” to produce, that gap between films seems almost non-existent. Plus, let’s keep in mind that “Joker” is likely going to keep earning well at the box office for at least a few more weeks, with $800 million being a low-end estimate.
At the end of the day, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that the supervillain movie will be the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. But really, when everything is all said and done, we might be talking about “Joker” being not only one of the most profitable comic book films of all time but also one of the biggest superhero films that Warner Bros. has ever released. And that would have been damn-near laughable to say a month ago.
