Pop Culture

'Joker' Is the Highest-Grossing R-Rated Movie of All Time (UPDATE)

Joker has passed 'Deadpool 2' to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time globally.

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in 'Joker'
Image via Warner Bros./Niko Tavernise
Warner Bros.

UPDATED 10/25, 12:35 p.m. ET: Joker has passed Deadpool 2 to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time globally.Forbes says the film’s 21-day gross is $258.7 million in America and $785.5 million globally.

Ryan Reynolds congratulated Joaquin Phoenix, Todd Phillips & Co. with an Instagram post proclaiming, “You motherfucker.”

See original story below.

Joker hauled in another $77.9 million at the global box office this weekend, bringing its total numbers to $737.5 million.

"In terms of budget versus global grosses, Joker is more profitable than any 'big' comic book movie aside from Deadpool, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Mask," Scott Mendelson wrote in Forbes. The film now tops other hit comic book films at the global box office like Man of Steel, Justice League and Ant-Man and the Wasp.

The villain origin story is also set to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all-time, with only The Matrix Reloaded, Deadpool and Deadpool 2 having made more at the global box office.

It wasn't all good news for the Batman nemesis. Angelina Jolie's Maleficent: Mistress of Evil kicked Joker out of the top spot at the box office, with $36 million domestically.

Still, Joker has become a full-blown box office phenomenon. “It’s already in territory that nobody thought it would get to. It’s achieved a box office that is above the wildest expectations of the studio and analysts,” Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst, told theAssociated Press. “Even if the box office stopped right now it’s an absolute, unqualified success.”

In other news Joker-related news, Robert Pattinson, who is set to play the caped crusader in the upcoming The Batman, said it's not likely his character will link up with Joaquin Phoenix’s Clown Prince of Crime on the big screen. “It’s kind of a different world,” the actor told Yahoo.

The Batman is set to hit theaters in June 2021.

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