'Joker' tops million ticket sales in three days
Movie “Joker” has sold over 1 million tickets in Korea as of Friday. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Korea
By Dong Sun-hwa
“Joker,” DC Comics' character-based psycho thriller movie, has sold more than one million tickets in Korea as of Friday, only two days after opening here.
The movie ― which opened on Wednesday ― reached the milestone on Friday morning, according to distributor Warner Bros. Korea citing Korean Film Council data. The movie also topped real-time reservations on Friday. Of all movie tickets reserved, “Joker” accounted for more than 53 percent.
The distributor said audience reaction was mostly positive. In particular, the jaw-dropping acting talent of American actor Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the title character, has grabbed public attention.
The movie is about a villain recreated from the character of the same name in “Batman.” Unlike most other DC productions zeroing in on superheroes, “Joker” tells the story of a comedian hopeful of the 1980s who later turns to evil course for a reason.
"Todd (director Todd Phillips) and I were striving for something unique. We wanted to create our own understanding of the character and his own history," Phoenix said at a live video conference at Yongsan CGV in Seoul in September.
The film won the Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival.