Joker Thumb 3 Warner Bros.

It’s all part of the plan: Joker has crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office becoming the first R-rated film ever to do so.

Since its release in October, the Clown Prince of Crime has been a fixture in headlines across the globe. From mass shooting concerns, polarising opinions and record after record, one thing’s for sure: people are talking about Joker.

From best October opening of all time, to highest grossing R-rated film in cinema history (not adjusted for inflation), it was only a matter of time before the Batman foe’s origin story joined the lucrative $1bn club.

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Joker Becomes First R-Rated Movie In History To Make $1 Billion Warner Bros.

The film’s global box office take was sitting at $999.1 million yesterday, November 15. Exhibitor Relations Co. then confirmed on Twitter that it had reached the massive milestone (the exact figure has still to be released).

It was only weeks ago that Joker sailed past The Matrix Reloaded and Deadpool 2 as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.

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Ryan Reynolds – who stars as the sweary, spandex-wearing hero – even took a moment to congratulate the Clown Prince of Crime on Instagram, in true R-rated fashion.

Joker joins Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 ($1.34bn), Aquaman ($1.148bn), The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ($1.12bn), The Dark Knight Rises ($1.08bn), The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey ($1.01bn), and The Dark Knight ($1bn).

What’s particularly impressive is that Joker has yet to be released in China, still managing to bag a seismic box office without one of the key markets.

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Also, with only a humble budget of $62.5 million, Joker has become the most profitable comicbook movie of all time too.

The film has been critically-acclaimed, swooping the Golden Lion (a highly prestigious award, generally a precursor to a Best Picture Oscar nomination), at the Venice Film Festival.

Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the titular villain, is a hot favourite as predictions for next year’s Oscars start to roll in – as it stands, Phoenix and Adam Driver (for Marriage Story) are the front-runners for Best Leading Actor.

Joker 2019 2 Warner Bros.

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It’s currently sitting at 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site’s critics’ consensus calling it ‘a chillingly plausible origin story that serves as a brilliant showcase for its star’.

UNILAD called Joker our film of the year, describing it as a ‘terrifying, harrowing, volatile triumph’.

Joker is in cinemas now.