Joker opened to a $40M record at the box office on Friday, despite the controversy surrounding the movie. The film is predicted to earn $95 million this weekend, which would make it the biggest October movie opening of all time.
Globally, the film will likely rack up nearly $200 million by Monday, which would be a career-best for both director Todd Phillips and stars Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro.
In the weeks leading up to the film's release, criticism of the themes and content contained in movie grew and Joker also had sparked security worries due to its dark portrayal of the title character. Many theaters have increased security and one theater in California even canceled screenings due to a threat.
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