Joker got Warner Bros. worried about pajama sales

Joaquin Phoenix.
(Image credit: Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Now that Joker has earned more than $1 billion worldwide, it's probably safe to assume that Warner Bros. is happy they rolled the dice on it. But according to director Todd Phillips, the movie's release could have been derailed by a different major profit-driver for the studios: pajamas. "We spent a year at Warner Bros., and I saw emails back and forth, literally, where they said, "Does he realize we sell Joker pajamas at Target?," recalled Phillips. "I go, 'Didn't movies come first and pajamas come second?'" — somehow missing the entire insane merchandising machine on which this whole superhero thing is based. Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.