Joker debuts with massive opening night as theaters ramp up security

Joker's early box office numbers will surely put a smile on Warner Bros.' face.

The Batman villain's dark origin story took in $13.3 million in Thursday night previews, a new record for an October release, Deadline reports. The previous record-holder was last year's Venom, which opened with $10 million in Thursday previews, although as Deadline notes, Joker screenings started an hour earlier.

Still, the $13 million figure is quite impressive, especially considering Joker is rated R while Venom was rated PG-13. This could put Joker on its way to set a new record for biggest October opening weekend of all time, a title once again held by Venom, which pulled in $80.2 million in its debut.

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The strong start is despite — or perhaps because of — the fact that Joker is among the year's most controversial films. After earning raves at its Venice International Film Festival premiere, the film began to pick up backlash as critics accused of it irresponsibly glamorizing its central character in a way that some worried could inspire real-life violence. Theaters have taken precautions for its opening weekend amid this anxiety with additional security, while the FBI said it was monitoring online posts around the movie, although it said it hasn't received credible threats.

Amid the criticism, Warner Bros. released a statement saying that the film is not "an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind." Director Todd Phillips has also argued that showing the real implications of violence makes the film "very responsible," although he generated additional controversy by in an interview railing against "woke culture" and saying backlash to it inspired the film.

But the result has been one Joker headline after another for weeks, and as questions swirled about whether these controversies and fears would suppress or boost turnout, it seems the answer may be the latter. The idea to make Joker was reportedly contentious even inside Warner Bros., but no one's laughing now.