Joaquin Phoenix’s “Joker” is dominating North American moviegoing and heading for a record $90 million opening weekend, early estimates showed Friday.
Warner Bros.’ R-rated thriller about a psychopathic criminal appears to be on track to top the October record for a launch weekend, set a year ago when Sony’s “Venom” debuted with $80.3 million. Warner Bros. has adhered to an $80 million estimate, even after “Joker” set a record for an October preview with $13.3 million, while Friday estimates from rivals came in significantly higher.
“Joker” is directed by Todd Phillips from a screenplay he wrote with Scott Silver about a failed stand-up comedian who becomes a crazed killer in Gotham City. Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp and Marc Maron also star. Concerns have been raised about the violence-laden film glamorizing mass murder, and New York and Los Angeles police are increasing their presence around theaters screening the film this weekend.
One Southern California theater in the beachside suburb of Huntington Beach closed down for its last two preview showings of “Joker” after police determined that a credible threat had been received. The theater resumed showings Friday with police promising a presence throughout the weekend.
“Joker” won the Golden Lion, the Venice Film Festival’s highest prize, on Aug. 31, but the pic has divided film critics. While Phoenix’s performance has been lauded, the movie’s dark tone and over-the-top violence have generated negative responses. “Joker” currently has a 69% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Joker” has pulled in nearly $25 million in international previews and early showings on Wednesday and Thursday from 47 markets on Thursday, and is being launched in another 26 on Friday.
“Joker” broke the October presales record on the Fandango online ticketing site. The film comprised more than 60% of Fandango’s Friday online sales.
Universal’s second weekend of animated adventure “Abominable” will likely lead the rest of the pack at the domestic box office with about $11 million. The third frame of Focus’ “Downton Abbey” should wind up in third with about $8 million. STX’s fourth weekend of “Hustlers” and Warner’s fifth session of “It: Chapter Two” will be battling for fourth with Roadside Attractions’ Judy Garland biopic “Judy” in the $4 million to $6 million range.
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Disney is in early development on a live-action “Inspector Gadget” movie and has set up the project with “Aladdin” producers Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich at their Rideback banner. Disney has hired Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell, best known as “Saturday Night Live” writers, to work on the script. “Inspector Gadget” originated in 1983 as […]
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After bowing at Venice where it was nominated for the Horizons Award, “Hava, Maryam, Ayesha” has its Asian premiere at the Busan International Film Festival. Directed by debutante Sahraa Karimi, it plays in the ‘A Window On Asian Cinema’ strand. The film is a rarity in that it is an Afghan film made by an […]
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After 2011’s “Nobel Thief,” 2012’s “Uncle Shyamal Turns off the Lights,” 2015’s “Peace Haven” and 2016’s “Mi Amor,” Indian filmmaker Suman Ghosh returns to the Busan International Film Festival with a brace of projects. His “Aadhaar,” a satire on India’s contentious identity card of the same name, has its world premiere at the ‘A Window […]
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“The Cave,” Tom Waller’s reconstruction of the dramatic rescue of a schoolboy soccer team from waterlogged caverns in northern Thailand begins its festival career this week at the Busan International Film Festival. Interest in the story has been running strongly since the dramatic events of June and July 2018, with at least half a dozen […]
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Showbox, one of South Korea’s leading studios, is launching sales of disaster comedy “Sinkhole” at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Film Market. Helmed by “The Tower” director Kim Ji-hoon, the film is the story of the events that follow the appearance of an urban sinkhole that swallows an entire apartment building. It stars fashion […]
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“We plan to consolidate our position as the world’s leading cinema technology company by operating 750 screens by end of 2019, capable of hosting 150 million moviegoers a year,” said JongRyul Kim, CEO of CJ 4DPLEX at a press event held in Seoul in September. The company has been in business for a decade now. 4DX is […]
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“Somewhere Winter,” a Chinese-language romantic drama, has joined the sales slate of Distribution Workshop in time for the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Film Market. The film is directed by David Wang Weiming (“Sex Appeal”) and stars Ma Sichun (“Soul Mate,” “The Left Ear”) and Wallace Huo (“Our Time Will Come”). The movie tells a […]
