The director of Joker, Todd Phillips, claims that he doesn’t attribute the film’s unprecedented success to its ties with Batman.
Joker is one of the highest-grossing movies of 2019 and it is the highest-grossing R-Rated film of all-time. With over $1 billion gross worldwide, it instantly became a hit and one of the most discussed films of the decade.
Phillips believes that Batman has nothing to do with the movie’s success as he said, “It was more than that.” At Deadline’s The Contenders New York event, he answered the question regarding Batman’s influence on the movie’s popularity.
“I mean, I think there are themes in the movie that really resonated with people. None of us thought an R-Rated movie could do over $1 billion across the world. But I think the themes in it really resonated.”
The film was released in October and it took the world by storm with its raw, thought-provoking storyline. Joaquin Phoenix played the role of Joker, a man who suffers from various mental illnesses who is rejected by society. Throughout the film, we see his descent into madness.
The thing Scott Silver and I set out to do when we wrote the movie together was to make something meaningful in that comic book space, but also something really that addressed what was going on in 2016 when we started writing .
Todd Phillips
He also mentioned that the movie mirrored what was happening in the country in 2017. Arthur Fleck became a model of deep character study. They used the film as a platform to show what losing compassion and lacking decency looks like.
Phoenix was praised for his outstanding performance. Joker was nominated four times in the Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture. Because of its impactful success, the movie was released in IMAX for a week for the second time.
Also read: 5 DC Characters That Deserve A ‘Joker’-Style Movie
Hailed as the most profitable comic book movie of all time, Joker is in talks for a sequel. While details are still being kept under wraps, fans will have to wait before Warner Bros. closes a deal for a second part or if it will stay as a standalone film.
Do you think Joker can work without Batman? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments below!
