
On Friday, Warner Bros.’ “Joker” will become the first R-rated movie in history to earn more than $1 billion at the global box office.
“This film, as envisioned by Todd Phillips and performed by Joaquin Phoenix is an incredibly dark, hard R-rated adventure that does not attract a wide audience, so I think you’re looking at a couple of really interesting reasons as to why,” Variety senior film writer Matt Donnelly explains. “Most of all, because ‘Joker’ takes place in a world of a really gritty, independent film.”
Joaquin Phoenix’s turn as the Joker marks the seventh movie in 2019 to hit the billion-dollar mark. The film is only the fourth from Warner Bros. to reach said milestone, coming after “Aquaman,” “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” Given its modest budget — $62.5 million — “Joker” is the most profitable comic book film to date.
Despite the film’s box office success, critics remain divided about the controversial “Joker.” Todd Phillips directs with Robert De Niro and Zazie Beetz starring in addition to Phoenix.
The 2020 Grammy Award nominations were announced Wednesday morning, and Variety’s video anchor Audrey Yap is joined by executive music editor Shirley Halperin and lead music critic Chris Willman to break down the list of honorees. Lizzo leads the pack with eight nods, while Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X tie for second with six [...]
Variety’s Peter Debruge calls “Waves,” which opens this weekend in limited release, one of the year’s best films. Sterling K. Brown anchors the Trey Edward Shults drama, which is about a family trying to stay together through tragedy and hardship.
On Friday, Warner Bros.’ “Joker” will become the first R-rated movie in history to earn more than $1 billion at the global box office. “This film, as envisioned by Todd Phillips and performed by Joaquin Phoenix is an incredibly dark, hard R-rated adventure that does not attract a wide audience, so I think you’re looking [...]
Golden Globe contender Saoirse Ronan reunited with her “Lady Bird” director Greta Gerwig and co-star Timothée Chalamet in “Little Women,” a film she uncharacteristically approached Gerwig about at an award show. “I just tapped her on the shoulder and was like, ‘I know you’re doing ‘Little Women’ and I know Jo is going to be […]
The real reason behind Forky’s odd name choice.
Mindy Kaling and Constance Wu both starred in woman-directed films this year; Kaling in Nisha Ganatra’s “Late Night” and Wu in Lorene Scafaria’s “Hustlers.” In their “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors” conversation, the two shared stories about working with female directors and how playing women who are ambitious used to be portrayed as a negative […]