Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix are laughing all the way to the bank right now. When Warner Bros. was uncertain about whether their film Joker would actually do well in box office, the two creatives agreed to be paid by percentage on the backend instead of accepting upfront payment through salaries.
Now, nearly two months after the release of the DC Comic drama, the Joker has wielded major grosses worldwide.
Domestically, the film earned $326.9 million. But, the real gains occurred internationally, with Joker grossing $710 million. The film has now surpassed the billion dollar mark, accumulating a whopping total of $1,036,857,842 worldwide in a total of 43 markets.
Beyond the box office, Joker is already set to make $500 million in TV and streaming licensing deals once the film is no longer in the theaters.
Phillips revealed that he had a challenging time convincing Warner Bros. to make the film. Phillips and Warner Bros. met several times over a one year period before the Burbank studio relented. Phillips also had to convince Phoenix to join the production.
“I know Joaquin had been approached in that comic book universe, and he’s always not done it,” Phillips said. “So it wasn’t an easy thing, but he read the script and we just had these long meetings that went on for months, of talking about what it could be, what it’ll look like, what it’ll feel like.”
Standard backend points are usually around 10%, but is negotiable. That means that Phillips and Phoenix may end up with more than $100 million on the backend between the two of them.
Phillips made a similar backend deal for Hangover. He reportedly gave up an upfront payment of $6.5 million in order to secure a 16% backend deal. The end result, Phillips received a $75 million payday.
Joker had a great opening weekend, grossing $96,202,337, a spectacular feat since the production budget was $55 million.
Although not confirmed by Warner Bros., sources are already reporting that a sequel is in the works with Phillips set to direct.
