CINEMA
What are the highest grossing Joaquin Phoenix movies in history? Joker, Gladiator, The Master...
The 49-year-old actor has appeared in over 50 movies and has gained numerous Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations and wins.
Joaquin Phoenix returns to the big screen taking the lead role in Todd Phillips’ ’Joker: Folie à Deux’ - the sequel to the box office hit ‘Joker’, released in 2019. The 49-year-old actor co-stars in the film alongside Lady Gaga, who plays his sidekick, Lee Quinzel / Harley Quinn.
Joker 2 hits theaters on Friday with previews lined up for this afternoon at 3 p.m. ET at select venues. “Arthur Fleck is confined to Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as the Joker. As he struggles with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that has always been within him,” the official synopsis reads.
While Phoenix has gained great recognition from the public and critics thanks to his performance as the Joker, he has enjoyed a lengthy career in which he has taken on a number of diverse roles. So far, he filmography notes cast credits in over 50 movies and similar projects. He is currently working on his next three films - Polaris and Eddington already confirmed.
Joker: Folie à Deux has received mixed reviews but is expected to perform well at the box office. Forecasts have the movie grossing around $55 million in his first week. Still, it is unlikely to emulate the success of the 2019 original.
So let’s take a look at the highest grossing movies in Joaquin Phoenix’s career.
Joker (2019)
Todd Phillips’ psychological thriller was a box office smash. It cost $55–70 million to make and not only covered production costs but made everyone involved a handsome profit. It grossed $335,451,311 domestically and $1.079 billion worldwide within the first two years of its release.
That would have come as a pleasant surprise to the director and his leading actor, as both retained a percentage of profits.
It also delivered Phoenix’s first and only Academy Award. He took home the Oscar for Best Actor, with his performance also earning him a Bafta, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award.
Gladiator (2000)
Joaquin has received numerous nominations for the industry’s most prestigious awards throughout his career. He had five nominations for his 12th film, Gladiator, director by Ridley Scott and released through Universal in May 2000. He stars as the power-obsessed Commodus who is engaged in a bitter and deep-seated rivalry with Maximus (Russell Crowe) and was globally acclaimed for his electric performance.
At the box office, Gladiator brought in $465.4 million, multiplying its production cost several times over.
Signs (2002)
M. Night Shyamalan’s science fiction thriller Signs was also well received by critics and the public. Phoenix is cast as Merrill Hess, the younger brother of farmer and former priest Father Graham Hess (played by Mel Gibson). When large crop circles start to appear in the family’s cornfield, then in other parts of the world, a narrative develop that an alien invasion is imminent...
Signs opened taking $60,117,080 at 3,264 theaters in its first weekend and went on to gross $227,966,634 in the US market and $408,247,917 worldwide.
The Village (2005)
Shyamalan also wrote, produced and directed The Village which turned out to be another of Phoenix’s most successful movies - in spite of mixed reviews. A stellar cast starred alongside him: Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver in a scary tale about a community living in the shadows of a humanoid-infested forest. Lucius Hunt, played by Phoenix, asks for permission to cross through the woodland to bring back vital medical supplies. His request is denied by the elders but he ventures in anyway... it all gets very stranger after that.
The Village almost recouped its budget in it’s opening weekend, with receipts of $50,746,142 from 3,730 theaters. It went on to gross $114,197,520 domestically and $256,697,520 worldwide.
Walk the Line (2005)
From horror and suspense movies, Joaquin diversified by taking up a role in a completely different genre - the music biopic. He portrays gravel-voiced county singer and occasional jailbird Johnny Cash.
As the man in black, Phoenix showcases his signing ability and skill at imitating Cash’s trademark baritone. Reese Witherspoon stars alongside him as his wife June Carter, who tries to keep Johnny on the straight and narrow.
At just over two hours, Walk the Line requires patience but because it’s an engaging storyline and packed with great music, you hardly notice the time fly by.
It also brought Phoenix another raft of nominations - he picked up the Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy award at the 2006 Golden Globes.
Financially, Walk the Line opened with $22,347,341 and went on to gross $119,519,402 domestically and $186,797,986 worldwide. It also fared well in other countries - particularly English-speaking ones. In the UK, it raked in a total of $17,780,351 and did surprisingly well in Germany, grossing $13,189,684.