NEW YORK • Joker held the ace card in Singapore, collecting $1.89 million between last Thursday and Sunday, setting a new record for the opening weekend box office for an NC16-rated movie here.
In the United States, the movie was on a roll too.
With some cheering it on and others anxiously holding their breath, Hollywood's latest comic book movie, Joker, laughed its way to the bank over the weekend, opening to robust domestic ticket sales of about US$93.5 million (S$129 million).
Moviegoers' embrace of Joker came amid a debate over whether Warner was being irresponsible by releasing it, reported The New York Times.
The R-rated film, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker, the DC Comics villain, tells an origin story for the character, showing how his homicidal anger grew out of intense isolation and rejection.
Some worried that the movie, rather than critiquing societal issues, might instead be painting an overly sympathetic portrait of a man whose descent into brutal villainy echoes the back stories of actual mass shooters.
The film's bleak tone and artsy look are pointedly atypical for a comic-book movie. Its director Todd Phillips envisioned it as a gritty character study in the mould of Taxi Driver (1976).
As the release date for Joker neared, criticism intensified.
Undergirding it was the memory of a 2012 shooting in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight showing of the Warner superhero movie The Dark Knight Rises, also based on characters from DC Comics.
Last month, relatives and friends of those killed in that shooting sent a letter to the studio. "When we learnt that Warner was releasing a movie called Joker that presents the character as a protagonist with a sympathetic origin story, it gave us pause," the letter said.
In the lead-up to the release of Joker, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned of online threats, adding to fears that screenings might be targeted with violence. That prompted police in cities including New York and Los Angeles to step up theatre security.
The movie opened without incident, though signs of audiences' anxiety were apparent.
According to The Associated Press, a number of moviegoers left a screening in mid-town Manhattan last Friday night after a man cheered and applauded on-screen murders.
Consuming what appeared to be alcohol, he reportedly spat on patrons as they left the theatre.
Joker did not have much serious competition over the weekend. The No. 2 movie on domestic screens was Abominable, an animated family film, with US$12 million.
Downton Abbey came in third, with US$8 million.
