JOKER Looks Set To Be As Profitable As AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Thanks To Low Production Costs

The future of the DC Extended Universe may very well end up being R-Rated, as Joker looks set to earn a profit every bit as big as Avengers: Infinity War by the time all is said and done. Check it out...

By JoshWilding - Oct 24, 2019 02:10 AM EST

Filed Under: Joker

The DC Extended Universe could end up looking a lot different moving forward, as Joker has exceeded box office expectations in just about every way imaginable. Now, Deadline reports that by the time all is said and done (in terms of the movie's threatrical, TV, and home entertainment releases), it should end up making a profit of at least $464 million.

Believe it or not, that's around the same profit turned by Avengers: Infinity War - a movie which had a massive $500 million budget. Joker ,on the other hand, only cost around $70 million!

Despite not receiving a release in China, the DC Comics adaptation should hit the $825 million mark by its fourth weekend of release, and while a final haul of $1 billion worldwide is unlikely, it is possible. Joker director Todd Phillips has previously pointed to Warner Bros. considering more standalone R-Rated adventures if this one succeeded, and you have to believe they're now contemplating it.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding Joker in the weeks leading up to its release, but that all proved to be unfounded and seemingly just increased interest in the movie.

No one could have expected results like this, of course, and you have to hope that Joker will receive some well-deserved attention at next year's Oscar's ceremony as Joaquin Phoenix's performance really is out of this world. Then again, the Academy never really seems to award success, so who knows!

Check out the best Easter Eggs from Joker
by clicking on the "View List" button below!

Zorro The Gay Blade

One of the most direct references to the comic books in Joker comes when we see Thomas and Martha Wayne leading Bruce out of a movie theater where they've been watching Zorro the Gay Blade.

That was obviously the movie the Waynes watched in the comics before they were gunned down, but rather than Bruce dragging them out because he's scared, it seems they're just trying to escape the unrest on the streets of Gotham. It's worth noting that this movie was released in 1981, which confirms that Joker is also set during that year.

"Super Rats"

Early on in the movie, we see a news report mentioning that Gotham City has been invaded by "super rats." Batman has never faced a gigantic rat in the comics, but there is a villain called Ratcatcher.

His real name is Otis Flannegan and he uses his a preternatural ability to train rodents to commit crimes. There's nothing to indicate that's what's happening here, of course, but it's possible it's a nod to the villain!

Justin Theroux's Unexpected Cameos

Justin Theroux has seemingly become the master of noteworthy cameos in big franchises, because after his brief appearance in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, he shows up in Joker as well.

We see him when Arthur is playing that tape of Murray Franklin welcoming a guest named Ethan Chase on the show to promote something called American Playboy. It's hard to tell, but that is indeed Theroux who makes this small, but still really fun little cameo in the DC Comics movie.

The Franklin Murray Show

As has already been noted online, the font used for "Live With Murray Franklin" is the same we saw in the Batman: The Animated Series titles. It's not the only nod on this show, though.

Arthur's dressing room is #404. That was the first chapter in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's iconic Batman: Year One, a story that doesn't necessarily inspire what we see in Joker, but definitely has the same tone. The 1980s setting is also the same and this could be where Todd Phillips looked for inspiration for his take on Gotham City.

A Obscure DC Comics Villain

Look closely and you'll notice that Dr. Benjamin Stoner is responsible for Penny Fleck's diagnosis. Well, in the comics, a Dr. Stone was also part of Arkham Asylum during the 1980s and he later went on to become a rather obscure Doctor Fate villain!

There's another possible Easter Egg with Detective Burke, one of the cops pursuing Arthur. We don't learn his first name, but there was a Tommy Burke who was a detective in the pages of Detective Comics and Gotham Central. However, he doesn't seem to have much in common with this version.

Bryan Callen's Cameo

If you've got sharp ears, you might notice that one of Arthur's co-workers is played by Bryan Callen, the comedian and actor who played Eddie in Todd Phillips' Hangover movies.

He said on a podcast a while back that he had been cast as an ageing stripper in Joker, so chances are he was meant to have a larger part which got cut down either for timing issues, or because he revealed more than Warner Bros. wanted him to! With any luck, he'll make it into the deleted scenes.

Pogo's Comedy Club

Arthur performs his admittedly terrible stand up set in Pogo's Comedy Club, and there's probably a good reason it's named that. It's not because it's based on an iconic location, however; instead, Pogo the Clown was actually serial killer John Wayne Gacy's "respectable" alias.

This is a dark hint at what's to come for Arthur later in the movie and a very clever little touch.

Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times

When Arthur manages to track down his "father" Thomas Wayne in that theater, the film playing is 1936 comedy Modern Times starring Charlie Chaplin.

This film was actually added to the Library of Congress in the US National Film Registry in 1989 as it was deemed "culturally significant." The movie is a commentary on poor working conditions in the industrial age and there are themes in there which are definitely relevant to Joker and our world.

The Dark Knight Returns

Joker's appearance on Franklin Murray's talk show is very similar to The Dark Knight Returns, as he commits a similarly violent act in that story.

However, another nod comes when Joker plants a kiss on a fellow guest. Dr. Sally has to be a nod to Dr. Ruth Weisenheimer from Frank Miller's seminal tale, so Todd Phillips clearly paid some attention to the source material when crafting this particular scene in the DC Comics adaptation.

"TW"

This is easily missed on a first viewing, but when Arthur is putting on his makeup, he picks up a photo of his mother as a young woman with a message on the back reading, "Love your smile, TW."

He quickly crumples that up and dismisses it, but this could very well be confirmation that Thomas Wayne is Arthur's father. Alternatively, Penny might have written it on there herself!

Wayne Manor

Arthur pays a very tense visit to Wayne Manor where he comes across his "brother" Bruce Wayne. In one of Joker's weirdest nods, the young Bruce slides down a pole in his playground in what feels like a very direct reference to the Bat-Pole which became a staple of the 1960s classic TV series.

Oh, and the Englishman who gets roughed up by Arthur is exactly who you think he is. Actor Douglas Hodge is credited as Alfred Pennyworth at the end of the film despite never being named in it.

A Nod To Batman's Co-Creator

Early on in the movie, Arthur meets with his social worker, Debra Kane. She was actually a character in the Batman novel The Ultimate Evil, but common sense says this is a nod to Batman co-creator Bob Kane.

There's also a possible reference to Bill Finger, as Sophie Dumont works in Gotham Savings Bank on 20 William Street. That might be something of a stretch, though, especially as Finger is so often overlooked in movies.

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111 Comments

1 2 3

Deodorant - 10/24/2019, 2:43 AM

Deserves all the money it makes. DC must really be wishing they paid for all production costs though!

dracula - 10/24/2019, 3:21 AM

@Deodorant - You mean Warner Brothers wishes.

Deodorant - 10/24/2019, 4:56 AM

@dracula - oops thanks for the correction!

TheUnworthyThor - 10/24/2019, 2:48 AM

Wow, that just about made up for The Goldfinch.

manofillintent1 - 10/24/2019, 2:56 AM

People say marvel will never be able to make a film like the joker but honestly I think they can, not as violent of course not that the joker was all that violent anyway was just darker subject matter but I think it’s only a matter of time before marvel does something a bit more personal and stripped back

Spidey91 - 10/24/2019, 4:07 AM

@manofillintent1 - the Netflix stuff was basically that, specially DD and JJ. Granted, that was tv and not movies but there's already precedent. I mean, Kingpin smashing a guy's head with a car door to the point of decapitation...yikes.

manofillintent1 - 10/24/2019, 4:56 AM

@Spidey91 - Yeah I mean marvel ain’t as squeaky clean as people say it is, for kids films there have been violent-ish moments mostly suggested violence instead of visual but things like the Ronin sword fight come to mind, klaw saying to one of the museum guys “it’s ok you can go” then shooting him dead in camera, even some of the mandarin stuff was pretty dark (before Trevor shows up) also in cap 1 when one of the soldiers goes through the propeller blades mid air and thano’s decapitation I know he’s a cgi purple guy but still,

thobie1 - 10/24/2019, 11:25 AM

@manofillintent1 - If they do the Punisher right, they could match the Joker.

shadowspider9 - 10/24/2019, 5:38 PM

@manofillintent1 - It's less a matter of Marvel and more a matter of Disney.
Marvel has plenty of heroes that lend themselves to darker themes.
Cap, Bucky, and Widow are all soldiers who have seen the horrors of war. Pather rules over Africa where all kinds of crimes against humanity happen. Daredevil, Cage, and even Spiderman are all street heroes who deal with the mature and ugly crimes that come with that.
And that's not even mentioning characters like Wolverine, Blade, Punisher, and Gambit, who are as much criminals as they are heroes.

The problem is Disney has crafted the MCU with this image of it being squeaky clean, light-hearted, family fun.
Something that they have been leaning into more and more since Ragnarok.

ganganor - 10/24/2019, 3:09 AM

I remember a time (not so long ago) when fans and critics complained about DC films being too dark and gloomy, and that they need to be fun. A batman related film should be fun. Along came suicide squad and the horrible JL film. Just shows you that the DC material is actually more adult oriented, at least everything batman related, and that the tone wasn't the problem, but the execution and ideas were... I hope DC stays on a path of more modest budget, adult oriented films. Again, at least with batman related stuff

WakandanQueen - 10/24/2019, 3:23 AM

@ganganor - It's actually funny, considering BvS wasn't dark. It was ludicrous.

FinnishDude - 10/24/2019, 3:36 AM

@ganganor - Less fun =/= More mature

dracula - 10/24/2019, 3:24 AM

They must be

dracula - 10/24/2019, 3:25 AM

Half of Joker's profit is still probably better than all of Justice League's

L0RDbuckethead - 10/24/2019, 8:29 AM

@dracula -

dracula - 10/24/2019, 11:24 AM

@L0RDbuckethead - Disney has taken steps to stop that from happening

The cast and crew of joker definetily worked hard

dracula - 10/24/2019, 3:27 AM

Shows that there is no one way to make a comic book movie, light or dark it doesn't matter. Make it good and people will come to watch

TheUnworthyThor - 10/24/2019, 3:28 AM

People say they hope DC makes a Black Label of some sort, but how long does that last when Lex Luther comes out and makes 200 million and Aquaman 2 comes out and makes 1.2 billion.

dracula - 10/24/2019, 3:30 AM

@TheUnworthyThor - Continue with smaller, low budget films and it will still be a decent profit

TheUnworthyThor - 10/24/2019, 3:35 AM

@dracula - Maybe. The Joker is unique in that he is a top five most popular DC character that whose story can be told on a mid budget. How many of those really exist?

dracula - 10/24/2019, 3:38 AM

@TheUnworthyThor - there are plenty of characters who don’t need massive budgets and they don’t all have to be villain movies. People would love a small scale and mature Constantine movie or maybe even something like Gotham Central

1 2 3

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JOKER Looks Set To Be As Profitable As AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Thanks To Low Production Costs

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