Joker scores best opening weekend ever for an October release

Joker
(Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Joker put on a happy face this weekend with a record-shattering debut.

The dark origin story from Warner Bros. and DC Films took in $93.5 million in its debut, the biggest opening weekend ever for a film released in October, Variety reports. The previous record-holder was 2018's Venom, Sony's standalone film about the titular Spider-Man villain that opened to $80.2 million, meaning this is the second year in a row that the October box office record has been broken by a film centered around a comic book antagonist.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.