Theater counts: Joker launches in 4,102 theaters

October 3, 2024

It was a solid weekend for newcomer The Wild Robot at the domestic box office as the film outperformed most expectations, dispatching all competitors and locking up the top spot on the weekend chart. The animated feature tallied up just shy of $36 million in its first three days and currently enjoys a six-day cume of $43 million. The robot film will likely fall into second place this weekend as a trio of wide releases invades cinemas, including the highly anticipated Joker: Folie á Deux.

Billed as a musical psychological thriller, Joker: Folie á Deux is the sequel to 2019’s Joker, a film that went on to score over $1 billion in worldwide receipts. Reprising his role as the titular character is Joaquin Phoenix, while being joined by Lady Gaga, who is playing the role of the multi-talented Harley Quinn. Once again directed by Todd Phillips, the movie finds Arthur Fleck in custody for a series of murders he committed as the Joker two years earlier. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that has always been inside it. Joker: Folie á Deux will begin its theatrical run in 4,102 North American venues.

Also opening in wide release this weekend is White Bird: A Wonder Story. Starting out in 1,018 locations, the film serves as both a prequel and a sequel to 2017’s Wonder, a film that went on to acquire $310 million in global ticket sales. The latest feature stars Ariella Glaser, Orlando Schwerdt, and Helen Mirren, while being helmed by Marc Forster, who last directed Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto.

Lastly, horror-comedy Monster Summer is expected to release wide this weekend. The David Henrie-directed movie follows a boy and his friends as they team up with a retired police detective to save their island from a mysterious force. We will update the theater count for Monster Summer once it is received.

Rounding out the top five this weekend is the aforementioned current box office champ in The Wild Robot, as that film adds 65 locations for a total of 3,997 movie houses. Still going strong in the third place position is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, kicking off its fourth weekend in domestic cinemas by showing in 3,576 movie houses. Playing in 3,106 venues is Transformers One, looking to add to its current 13-day total of $41.16 million, and finally, occupying the spot as the fifth widest release this weekend is Speak No Evil, still available in a solid 2,274 locations.

Looking ahead to next week, we see six wide releases attempt to take on Joker, including newcomers The Apprentice, My Hero Academia: You’re Next, Terrifier 3, and Piece by Piece, while Saturday Night closes out its three-step release pattern, going wide next Friday. Piece by Piece is projected to arrive in approximately 1,800 theaters.

Filed under: Theater Counts, Marc Forster, Helen Mirren, Todd Phillips, Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Mark Foster, Orlando Schwerdt, Ariella Glaser