Joker: Warner Bros. must now split profits from the film
Since the Justice League fallout, Warner Bros. and DC Films took less of a risk. So much so that the production budget was split with the Joker movie.
To say the controversial and deemed “problematic”, R-rated Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix, was a high-risk is an understatement. Aside from the controversy that permeated the entire project, the bigwigs at Warner Bros. were, let us say, hesitant about the film from the very beginning.
As revealed by The New York Times, not only were former studio chairman, Kevin Tsujihara, and Greg Silverman astonished by the pitch The Hangover trilogy director, Todd Phillips, presented to them, but the higher-ups cut their losses by appointing Bron Studios and Village Roadshow Pictures to co-finance the film. This joint-effort was made as a countermeasure in case Joker did not do well at the box office.
Subsequently, after Phillips was granted permission by Silverman and Tsujihara to proceed with a script for the film, development on the script began with Scott Silver in 2017 — despite the chagrin the character posed in the public consciousness surrounding the Aurora, Colorado shootings in 2012. Marin Scorsese was initially attached to the project as producer – an assigned title in name only – before he left due to other commitments. Scorsese’s long-time collaborator, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, took over producing duties from him.
More from Movies
- James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy casts more major DC characters
- New Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom trailer pushes Arthur to his limits
- 7 actors who could replace Ezra Miller as The Flash in the DC Universe
- Masters of the Universe reboot’s new domain could be at Amazon’s Prime Video Streamer
- James Gunn gives interesting update of Superman and Supergirl movies at DC Studios
Bradley Cooper joined the project as producer before filming began last year. Jared Leto, who played the Clown Prince of Crime in 2016’s Suicide Squad, was displeased by another actor other than him playing another iteration of the Joker outside of DCEU continuity and according to The Hollywood Reporter, has pulled all the stops to prevent the standalone Joker movie from going forward. Leto departed the agency CAA as a result. Regardless, Warner Bros. pushed on, despite the split in confidence.
Next. All 8 Catwoman actresses ranked from worst to best. dark
At present, Joker has secured a worldwide haul of $737.5 million at the box office, with analysts believing it could reach anywhere between $800 million to $1 billion by the end of its run. It cost roughly over $55 million produce between Village Roadshow and Bron Studios and, because of this, they will need to split the profits.