| No | Movie Title | Weekend Gross | Overall Gross | Week # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joker | $93,500,000 | $93,500,000 | 1 |
| 2 | Abominable | $12,000,000 | $27,833,155 | 2 |
| 3 | Downton Abbey | $8,000,000 | $73,626,935 | 3 |
| 4 | Hustlers | $6,300,000 | $91,321,880 | 4 |
| 5 | It: Chapter Two | $5,355,000 | $202,205,157 | 5 |
| 6 | Ad Astra | $4,557,000 | $43,662,768 | 3 |
| 7 | Judy | $4,445,635 | $8,904,078 | 2 |
| 8 | Rambo: Last Blood | $3,550,000 | $39,823,895 | 3 |
| 9 | War | $1,581,000 | $2,088,290 | 1 |
| 10 | Good Boys | $900,000 | $82,042,620 | 8 |
Well, here it is folks: Joker has arrived to dominate the box office. And dominate it did. Oh boy, did this movie do well.
Joker is now the biggest October opening of all time with $93,500,000. That number eclipses Venom, the previous October champion that came in at $80 million. Estimates for Joker were always high but as the release date approached it became obvious that Warner Bros had a monster on their hands. They were not let down. This is obviously also the biggest openings for Joaquin Phoenix and director Todd Phillips (though his Hangover 2 came close with $85 million). It’s also the fourth-largest R-rated opening in history, behind the Deadpool films and It: Chapter One. That’s good company to be sitting with.
So what WB now has is a bonafide hit across the board. While the rave reviews softened a bit last week, the film was still very well received by critics. Audiences agreed, giving Joker a B+ CinemaScore. Now one wonders how much legs the movie has and if it truly has a chance at nabbing some awards this year. Joaquin Phoenix is still the actor to beat but that could change in time as Joker grows smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror. But for now Joker is king. Who’s laughing now, Batman?
The rest of the box office was as quiet as a bat cave. Abominable took in a commendable $12,000,000 while J. Lo’s Hustlers inched ever closer to $100,000,000, no small feat. It: Chapter Two crossed the $200,000,000 mark in its fifth week. Though it won’t be topping Chapter One, this movie did serious business and ended up making the It series a massive success and one of horror’s biggest hits in ages.
Rambo: Last Blood sank ever closer to the bottom of the charts in only its third week, confirming that while Creed and its follow-up were a hit, not everything Stallone touches is gold. Indian action film War snuck into the North American box office with a $1,581,000 in just 305 locations. Not too shabby.
There is no doubt that Joker will be a force at next weekend’s box office but it does have a bit of competition. The Addams Family will be creeping into theaters, surely doing damage to Abominable. The Adam DeVine/Rose Byrne vehicle Jexi is also hoping to score a few laughs and bucks too. But the biggest competition will be coming from not one but TWO Will Smiths as Ang Lee’s Gemini Man debuts. Expect to see both Addams Family and Gemini Man do some business but will it be enough to take Joker down? Hell, I think that might be a job only Batman can handle.
