Monday Update: The joke’s not on Warner Bros., as their gritty R-rated Joker set the new record for highest October opening weekend with $96.2M.

This breaks the previous record of $80.2M set by last October’s Venom. (That was also the prior record-holder even when adjusting historical movies for ticket price inflation.)

Among R-rated superhero (or superhero-adjacent) movies, it also bests the $88.4M of Logan and $55.2M of Watchmen.

Comparisons

Total box office this weekend was $150.0M.

That’s +58.8% above last weekend but -16.1% below this same weekend last year, when Venom led with $80.2M and A Star Is Born also premiered with $42.9M.

Year-to-date box office stands at $8.61B. That’s -5.4% behind this same date last year, up from -5.5% after last weekend.

Although the 2019 YTD box office has trailed behind 2018 the entire year, that current -5.4% is the closest 2019’s box office has come to 2018’s level since -5.0% after the very first weekend of January.

Monday’s Weekend Actuals (Domestic)

FRI, OCT. 4 – SUN, OCT. 6

Sunday Update: The first weekend of October belonged to The Clown Prince of Crime.

Riding a tidal wave of hype and not a little controversy, Warner Bros.’ Joker topped the weekend box office in its opening frame with an estimated $93.5 million including $13.3 million in Thursday night previews – a superb haul that not only counts as the highest-ever debut for the month of October (topping the $80.2 million brought in by last year’s Venom) but for director Todd Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix as well. It reached that impressive number in part for being the only wide opener of the weekend, in addition to lack of competition for the young male demo that turned out for the film in droves (of the opening weekend audience, 64% were men and 66% were under the age of 35). Notably, its release in 4,374 locations is also the widest release ever for the month of October.

Given its status as the first big-screen movie to feature the iconic Batman villain as its main “protagonist” and the overwhelming popularity of the superhero genre in general, it’s safe to say Joker was going to enjoy a solid debut no matter what. But it’s hard to deny the power of controversy in bringing the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) title to record heights this weekend. Indeed, the film has been divisive to say the least – attested to by its mixed 69% Rotten Tomatoes score – and it has been the subject of countless think pieces and robust social media activity over the last several weeks, with those deeming it a potentially dangerous work of provocation countered by a slew of vocal and passionate defenders, particularly the hardcore fan community. No doubt, Joker is one of the most talked-about movies of the year and perhaps the decade, with a deafening level of buzz that – along with frequent reference to Phillips’ gritty, Scorsese-influenced take on the material – likely helped pique the interest of moviegoers who might not otherwise have been inclined to see it.

As comps go, last year’s previous October record-holder Venom is as good as any. Like Joker, that film centered a comic book villain as its lead character, and both strongly appealed to an audience of young males, and both had divergent audience and critical receptions (Joker‘s Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score currently stands at 92% vs. a 69% average from critics). But unlike the PG-13-rated Venom, Joker’s R-rating – still a rarity for a comic book movie despite the recent success of films like Deadpool and Deadpool 2 – makes its breakout success this weekend all the more impressive. Whether it can keep up the momentum in subsequent weeks remains to be seen, but if it performs in line with Venom – which had a weekend-to-final multiplier of 2.6x – it could be looking at a final tally in the neighborhood of $250 million.

Falling to second place after topping the box office last weekend was Universal’s Abominable, which brought in an estimated $12 million in its sophomore frame. The animated adventure from Dreamworks Animation and Pearl Studio now stands at $37.8 million after ten days of release, pacing it roughly 10% behind last year’s similar Smallfoot at the same point in its run.

Downton Abbey placed third with an estimated $8 million, down 46% from last weekend’s gross. The continuation of the hit TV series now has $73.6 million in its coffers through the end of its third weekend, making it the third-highest Focus Features release of all time (not adjusting for inflation) after 2005’s Brokeback Mountain ($83 million) and 2009’s Coraline ($75.2 million). Look for it to surpass both those titles by the time it leaves theaters.

Hustlers took fourth place with an estimated $6.3 million, bringing the total for the STX crime drama to an impressive $91.3 million through the end of its fourth weekend. Just behind it in fifth place was Warner Bros.’ It: Chapter Two, which took in an estimated $5.3 million in its fifth weekend for a total of $202.2 million to date. The Stephen King sequel is now only the third horror film in history to surpass the $200 million mark after the first It and The Exorcist, the latter of which reached that amount only after its 2000 re-release (though adjusted for inflation its box office total easily surpasses both It installments).

In sixth place, the Disney-released Ad Astra (originally produced by Fox) fell a somewhat steep 55% to an estimated $4.5 million in its third weekend. The Brad Pitt vehicle, which some reports indicate cost upwards of $100 million, has brought in just $43.6 million to date in North America and will have to count on Pitt’s bankability overseas to make up the shortfall.

Following its limited debut in 461 locations last weekend, Roadside Attractions’ awards-season contender Judy expanded to 1,458 locations and finished in seventh place with an estimated $4.4 million, giving the Judy Garland biopic $8.9 million to date.

Also in its third weekend, Lionsgate’s Rambo: Last Blood dipped to eighth with an estimated $3.5 million, bringing the total for the Sylvester Stallone sequel to $39.8 million. Expect it to surpass its immediate predecessor, 2008’s Rambo, by the end of its run.

In ninth place was the Bollywood action-thriller War, which set an opening-day record in its native India and debuted to a decent $1.5 million from just 303 locations in North America. The film comes from Indian distributor Yash Raj Films, which also distributed 2017’s Tiger Zinda Hai, which grossed $5.5 million domestically and the U.S. equivalent of $81.7 million overseas.

Finally in tenth, Universal’s Good Boys brought in an estimated $900K in its eighth weekend for a total of $82 million.

Overseas Update:

Joker brought in an even bigger haul overseas this weekend, grossing an estimated $140.5 million from 73 international markets and bringing its worldwide opening total to $234 million. Just as in the U.S., it broke records around the globe, including biggest October opening ever in 21 markets including Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and the UAE and the biggest October opening weekend of all time for IMAX both internationally ($9 million) and globally ($16.5 million), surpassing Venom from last year. Individual country totals include $16.3 million in Korea, $14.8 million in the U.K., $13.1 million in Mexico, $10 million in Russia, $7.3 million in Brazil, $7 million in Japan, $6.8 million in Italy and $6.6 million in Australia.

Abominable brought in an estimated $24.6 million overseas this weekend including $11.2 million in China — where the movie was co-financed — bringing its international total to $38.5 million and its worldwide cume to $76.3 million.

Downton Abbey grossed an estimated $6.6 million in 37 markets and brought its overseas total to $61.8 million, including a robust $27.6 million in the U.K. and Ireland. Its worldwide tally now stands at $135.4 million.

Ad Astra took in an estimated $7.3 million from 47 overseas markets and now has an international total of $67.7 million and a worldwide tally of $111.4 million.

Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates (Domestic)

FRI, OCT. 4 – SUN, OCT. 6