Todd Phillips' Joker film premiered at 2019 Venice Film Festival to largely positive reviews and reactions from critics, which has translated to a major jump in long-range box office forecasts for the film.
Box Office Pro pegs Joker's domestic opening as between $85 million and $105 million, with $103 million being the predicted number at this time. The movie is forecasted to make $210 million domestically over the course of its run. Initial projections from the website put the film between $60 and $90 million domestically. That's against a reportedly low budget of around $55 million, which would make the film a smash success from its first week if the upper end holds true. As these are long-range projections, the numbers will likely change and get more precise as the release date draws near.
If these estimates hold true and Joker takes in $103 million, the movie will earn the fourth-highest opening ever for an R-rated film, behind 2016's Deadpool ($132 million), 2018's Deadpool 2 ($125 million) and 2017's It ($123) million. In terms of DC films, the upper-end of this projection would put the movie above 2018's Justice League ($93.8 million) and right around 2017's Wonder Woman ($103 million). Even if Joker performs on the lower-end of this range, it's still likely to net the highest opening for October ever, beating out 2018's Venom ($80.25 million).
Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais and Shea Whigham. The film arrives in theaters Oct. 4.