2019’s Joker may have been one of the most successful DC movies ever made, but I find it pretty mind-blowing that its box office surpᴀsses one of Batman’s biggest movies. That, it should be stressed, is a pretty high bar to clear, as Batman remains one of the most bankable characters in cinema due to his wide popularity.
A new live-action rendition of Batman will appear in a future DCU adaptation, though for now, Batman’s cinematic legacy is tied to some fairly groundbreaking live-action movies. That is to say nothing of Batman’s career in animation, with the character being one of the most prolific in the entire DC roster.
Joker, meanwhile, has appeared in fewer productions than his traditional arch-nemesis. Nevertheless, he is arguably just as compelling, a fact that his first-ever live-action solo movie, the self-тιтled Joker, helped to hammer home when it was released in 2019.
Joker’s Box Office Is One Of DC’s Highest
This Is Despite Its Prohibitive R-Rating
According to The Numbers, Joker earned a staggering $1.07 billion worldwide. At the time, this made it the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, with the fact that it was replete with adult themes and gory events doing little to stem the tide of enthusiasm it had garnered upon release.
This success helped to justify a sequel, which was eventually released in 2024 as Joker: Folie á Deux, though this failed to stick the landing half as well as its predecessor.
Until Joker, DC movies, like most Marvel movies, were typically slapped with a PG-13 age rating designed to capitalize on the interests of a traditionally younger target audience. Nevertheless, Joker leaned into one of the grittiest takes on a comic book movie yet, with Arthur Fleck embarking on a violent rampage spurred by his innate psychopathy.
The novel approach landed exceptionally well, with Joker earning widespread praise from audiences and benefitting from immense publicity as a result. This success helped to justify a sequel, which was eventually released in 2024 as Joker: Folie á Deux, though this failed to stick the landing half as well as its predecessor.
Joker’s Box Office Is Even Higher Than The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight Was The First $1 Billion Superhero Movie
Despite earning even greater acclaim when it was released in 2008, Christopher Nolan’s seminal superhero sequel, The Dark Knight, grossed less worldwide than Joker. Admittedly, this was by a relatively minor margin, with The Dark Knight banking $1.01 billion worldwide, just $60 million less than Joker would earn more than ten years later.
The Dark Knight became the first superhero movie to gross more than $1 billion at the global box office, which speaks to how impressive this feat is for both movies. The Dark Knight Rises, meanwhile, is the highest-grossing Batman movie of all time, earning a staggering $1.08 million worldwide, leaving a much smaller gap between it and Joker.
Why Joker’s Box Office Is Higher Than The Dark Knight
Joker Was Decidedly Unique
It is impossible to ignore how unique Joker is as a comic book movie. The novelty of seeing a movie featuring a popular comic book character in a no-holds-barred context was intriguing, especially as the bar for the character was set so high by Heath Ledger’s frenetic take in The Dark Knight.
Heath Ledger tragically died before The Dark Knight was released, further stoking interest in the movie.
Furthermore, for better or worse, the тιтular villain/antihero resonated with many audiences. Arthur Fleck’s Joker is portrayed as a maligned outcast whose villainous turn is spurred by his loneliness and society’s negative behavior towards him. Although there is an eminent danger of overlooking important details about his reactions, this is Joker at his most human.
Still, the controversy stoked by the movie and fan reactions helped Joker to turn viral online and via social media. This, along with other time-related factors like ticket inflation and a larger worldwide market, also factor into Joker‘s success over The Dark Knight.
Source: The Numbers
