Joker has the last laugh, setting box office record in North America with US$96 million on opening weekend
- Origin story of Batman’s nemesis, starring Joaquin Phoenix, has divided film critics, but overcame controversy with biggest October opening ever for a movie
- Abominable, US-China co-produced animation, comes a distant second, followed by Downton Abbey, Jennifer Lopez vehicle Hustlers, and It: Chapter Two
Warner Bros. film Joker survived the intense controversy over its violent themes to take in US$96.2 million in North American cinemas at the weekend, setting a record for an October release, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said.
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Joker provides the backstory for the rise of Batman’s maniacal nemesis, painting a dark and disturbing portrayal of a would-be stand-up comedian’s descent into madness.
Amid fears that it might inspire violence – a shooting at a 2012 screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, in the US state of Colorado claimed 12 lives – some cinemas provided extra security for the opening of Joker.
Universal’s family-friendly Abominable placed a distant second at the box office, earning US$11.9 million in its second weekend. It tells the story of a teen and her friends trying to help a young Yeti reunite with its family as a wealthy man seeks to capture it as a prize.
In third, at US$8 million, was Focus Features’ Downton Abbey, the cinematic follow-up to the hit TV series about an upper-class family and their stately home in a changing Britain. The movie has the Crawleys and their earnest staff scrambling to prepare for an unexpected visit by the British royals.