Joker Archives - Media Play News

Pandemic Undermined Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in 2020

With a lack of new theatrical product for retail channels, Warner Bros. Jan. 27 reported $495 million in fourth-quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2020) revenue in video games and home entertainment. That was down 12% from revenue of $565 million in the previous-year period. For the fiscal year, video games, physical/digital movie and related content sales dropped about 30% to $1.59 billion, from $2 billion in 2019.

Warner attributed the decline primarily to the postponement of theatrical and home entertainment releases in 2020 due to the pandemic, which led to limited capacity and continued closure of movie theaters in many locations throughout the country, as well as unfavorable comparisons to the prior year, which included the early fourth-quarter release of the Oscar-winning Joker.

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Theatrical revenue dropped 25% to $1.18 billion, from more than $1.57 billion in the prior-year period. For the year, theatrical revenue dropped 26% to $4.39 billion, from $5.98 billion in 2019.

Top-selling Warner DVD/Blu-ray Disc releases in 2020 included January’s Joker and May’s Birds of Prey. Warner had little new content in the retail pipeline thereafter.

Television product revenue decreased primarily due to lower TV production revenue from production delays related to COVID-19, which impacted delivery for the 2020-21 broadcast season, and lower TV licensing.

Total studio operating income in the quarter remained relatively unchanged at $791 million, compared with $805 million in the previous-year period. For the year, operating income dropped 16% to $2 billion, from $2.38 billion in 2019.

Thanksgiving Discounts Push ‘Joker’ Back to No. 1 on Disc Sales Charts

Warner’s Joker returned to the top spot on the NPD VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc unit sales, as well as the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart the week ended Nov. 28.

The film, based on the Batman villain from DC Comics, was previously the top title for a week in January upon its release on DVD and Blu-ray. It had been No. 2 in the week leading up to Black Friday, and retailers extending deep discount deals earlier in the week due to the coronavirus pandemic, including on home media, was enough to push it to the top of the sales charts.

Blu-ray Disc formats accounted for 65% of Joker sales for the week.

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Disney’s live-action Mulan, which had topped disc sales the previous two weeks, fell to No. 7 on both charts.

No new releases made it onto the top 50 chart for the week, with the possible exception of Paramount’s Nov. 24 re-release of Sonic the Hedgehog as a limited-edition Blu-ray with collector’s cards containing photos and art from the film. It was No. 4 on the overall sales chart and No. 2 on the Blu-ray chart.

Several holiday favorites continue to sell well in the lead-up to Christmas.

No. 2 on the overall sales chart, selling 96% as many copies as the top title, was Universal’s 2018 animated movie The Grinch, based on the classic Dr. Seuss tale. It was No. 9 on the Blu-ray chart.

No. 3 on both charts was Warner’s eight-film “Harry Potter” collection.

No. 5 on the overall sales chart was Home Alone, a 20th Century Studios movie now owned by Disney.

Other Holiday discs in the top 20 include Warner’s Elf at No. 9 (No. 19 on the Blu-ray chart), Warner’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation at No. 11 (No. 17 BD), 20th Century’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York at No. 14 and Warner’s The Polar Express at No. 17.

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On the Media Play News rental chart for the week ended Nov. 29, Disney’s Mulan remake returned to the top spot, pushing Lionsgate’s Unhinged to No. 2.

Paramount’s new comedy Buddy Games debuted at No. 3, while 20th Century’s The New Mutants dropped to No. 4. Newcomer Iron Mask, from Lionsgate, debuted at No. 5.

Top 20 Sellers for Week Ended 11-28-20
Top 20 Rentals for Week Ended 11-29-20
Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs for Week Ended 11-28-20
Top 20 Blu-ray Market Share for Week Ended 11-28-20
Sales Report for Week Ended 11-28-20
Digital Sales Snapshot for Week Ended 11-30-20

Warner’s ‘Joker’ Most-Rented Digital Movie in the U.K.

The Official Film Chart in the United Kingdom has launched a monthly digital rental chart and data service for the British video sector. The new service claims to be the first video-on-demand (VOD) chart service in the world, based on data from digital retailers such as Amazon, Apple TV, Rakuten, Sky Store and Talk Talk TV, with the service supported by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) in tandem with U.K. video trade body the British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE).

The launch of the inaugural chart follows a period of accelerated growth in rental activity during the COVID-19 lockdown, with data for the first half of 2020 showing an average of 600,000 rentals per week before lockdown, rising to more than 1 million rentals weekly after lockdown was implemented. During the two weeks leading up to lockdown, pandemic-themed thriller Contagion (2011) was the most rented title in the U.K.

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More than 21 million rental transactions were made in the first six months of 2020. Joker, starring Oscar-winning Joaquin Phoenix, was the most popular title with more than 600,000 rental transactions through June 30, leading its closest competition Jumanji: The Next Level by 150,000 rentals. Rian Johnson’s Knives Out was third at the half-year mark.

The monthly Official Film Rental Chart will be published in the middle of each month, beginning in October.

Rank	Title	Studio
1	Joker	Warner
2	Jumanji: The Next Level	Sony Pictures
3	Knives Out	Lionsgate
4	1917	Entertainment One
5	Frozen II	Disney
6	Contagion	Warner
7	Angel Has Fallen	Lionsgate
8	Once Upon a Time in Hollywood	Sony Pictures
9	Le Mans ’66 (aka Ford v Ferrari)	20th Century
10	Gemini Man	Paramount

Warner Bros. Q1 Operating Profit Declines 55%

With studio operations shuttered for nearly a third of the quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, Warner Bros. April 22 reported operating income of $249 million, down about 55% from operating income of $547 million in the previous-year period. Revenue from theatrical product dropped almost 27% to $1.1 billion, from $1.5 billion last year.

Television content revenue increased 9% to $1.77 billion from $1.6 billion. Home entertainment and video games saw revenue drop less than 10% to $365 million from $399 million during the previous-year period.

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Oscar-winning Joker remains the studio’s top-selling packaged media of the year.

Warner, like other studios, has pushed back release of tentpole titles such as Wonder Woman 1984 to later this year or into 2021.

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‘Joker’ Dances to Top Spot on Disc Sales Charts

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Joker easily topped the NPD VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc unit sales, and the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart the week ended Jan. 11.

The gritty comic book film, which is based on the enigmatic Batman villain, brought in $334.1 million from the domestic box office and more than $1 billion worldwide. It recently earned 11 Oscar nominations, the most of any film in the 2019 field.

The film outsold the No. 2 title, Lionsgate’s Rambo: Last Blood, by a nearly 10-to-1 margin overall, and nearly 15-to-1 on the Blu-ray chart.

Another newcomer, Lionsgate’s critically acclaimed black-and-white drama The Lighthouse, debuted at No. 3 on both charts, coming in barely behind the “Rambo” sequel on the Blu-ray chart.

No. 4 on both charts was Sony Pictures’ Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

DreamWorks Animation’s Abominable, distributed by Universal Pictures, came in at No. 5 on both charts.

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Blu-ray Disc formats accounted for 73% of first-week Joker sales, and 72% of The Lighthouse. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray of Joker accounted for a whopping 23% of its total disc sales.

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Joker was also the No. 1 title on the Media Play News rental chart for the week ended Jan. 12.

No. 2 was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, followed at No. 3 by the previous three weeks’ top rental, Rambo: Last Blood.

Universal’s Hustlers dropped to No. 4, followed by Abominable at No. 5.

Top 20 Sellers for Week Ended 1-11-20
Top 20 Rentals for Week Ended 1-12-20
Top 20 Selling Blu-ray Discs for Week Ended 1-11-20
Top 20 Blu-ray Market Share for Week Ended 1-11-20
Sales Report for Week Ended 1-11-20
Digital Sales Snapshot for Week Ended 1-13-20

‘Joker’ Takes No. 1 Spot on Redbox Charts

Warner’s Joker took over the No. 1 spot on Redbox’s kiosk disc rental and On Demand charts the week ended Jan. 12.

The Redbox disc rental chart tracks DVD and Blu-ray Disc rentals at the company’s more than 40,000 red kiosks. The Redbox On Demand chart tracks digital transactions, including both electronic sellthrough and streaming rentals.

Sony Pictures’ Once Upon a Time in Hollywood rose to No. 2 on the disc rental chart and No. 3 on the On Demand chart.

Lionsgate’s Rambo: Last Blood, the top disc rental the past three weeks, dropped to No. 3 on the disc chart and No. 4 on the On Demand chart.

STX Films’ Hustlers, distributed by Universal Pictures, was No. 4 on the rental chart and No. 2 on the On Demand chart.

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Universal’s Abominable slipped to No. 5 on the disc rental chart and was No. 8 on the On Demand chart.

Lionsgate’s Angel Has Fallen was No. 5 on the digital chart and No. 7 on the disc chart.

Top DVD and Blu-ray Disc Rentals, Redbox Kiosks, Week Ended Jan. 12:

Joker — Warner
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — Sony Pictures
Rambo: Last Blood — Lionsgate
Hustlers — Universal
Abominable — Universal
It: Chapter Two — Warner
Angel Has Fallen — Lionsgate
Ad Astra — Fox
The Lighthouse — Lionsgate
Good Boys — Universal

Top Digital, Redbox On Demand, Week Ended Jan. 12:

Joker — Warner
Hustlers — STX
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — Sony Pictures
Rambo: Last Blood — Lionsgate
Angel Has Fallen — Lionsgate
Good Boys — Universal
Ad Astra — Fox
Abominable — Universal
It: Chapter Two — Warner
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle — Sony Pictures

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Merchandising: Retailers Deal Out ‘Joker’ Exclusives

Retailers lined up exclusive editions for the Jan. 7 home video release of Warner’s Joker.

Best Buy offered a Steelbook edition of the 4K UHD Blu-ray combo pack for $34.99.

Target had the regular Blu-ray combo pack with exclusive box art for $24.99.

And Walmart presented a single-disc DVD version as opposed to the widely-available two-disc DVD special edition. Walmart’s version included special box art and a lone bonus feature, the three-minute “Please Welcome … Joker,” a compilation of alternate takes of Joker’s talk-show entrance.

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The special single-disc DVD was offered at $16.96 in stores, but was priced online at $23.59.

The regular two-DVD version was offered at most places, including Walmart online, for $17.99 and offered nearly a half-hour of additional extras, including a making-of documentary.

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Joker

BLU-RAY REVIEW:

Street Date 1/7/20;
Warner;
Drama;
Box Office $333.5 million;
$28.98 DVD, $35.99 Blu-ray, $44.95 UHD BD;
Rated ‘R’ for strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images.
Stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, Marc Maron, Douglas Hodge, Josh Pais, Leigh Gill.

In DC Comics, the Joker has been Batman’s primary nemesis for 80 years, and part of the reason he remains such a fascinating character is the mystery surrounding his origins and motivations.

That isn’t to say that there haven’t been versions of a Joker origin story over the years, most often tailored to a specific story being told. There just hasn’t been a definitive one as clean as his counterpart’s, the boy who grew up to fight crime after the murder of his parents. The tale of the Joker is often messy and contradictory, which only adds to his intrigue and popularity.

With the movie aptly named Joker, director Todd Phillips brings a new interpretation of the character. The script by Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver is mostly a gritty, disturbing character study about what could push a man to reject society and embrace chaos; calling it Joker, as Phillips admits in the bonus materials, just gives comic book fans an excuse to see it.

But that’s not quite a fair assessment, as the story, while not directly adapting any of the myriad source material available, does touch upon several classic elements associated with Joker and Batman from the comics, particularly the notion that all it takes is “one bad day” to push a man over the edge.

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The film is anchored by Joaquin Phoenix’s immersive performance as Arthur Fleck, an anti-social, mentally ill loner and aspiring stand-up comedian who fantasizes about being accepted by a society that has little use for him. The film is set in 1981 in a moody version of Gotham City that threatens to burst at the seams at any moment, as corrupt bureaucrats leave public services underfunded while the wealthiest citizens, including Thomas Wayne, seem to have no interest in alleviating the tension.

While the story takes some violent turns and the film has courted controversy with its disturbing tone and sympathetic portrayal of a homicidal iconoclast, it nonetheless became a massive it. The film’s version of its title character has struck a nerve, becoming something of an anti-establishment champion of the downtrodden.

Phillips himself as even hinted that maybe Fleck isn’t the villain who ultimately confronts Batman, but is more of an inspiration for whomever that may be. But that’s a debate for fans and potentially a sequel that was never intended but may become a reality due to the film’s success.

Even so, there’s no requirement that this version of Joker be tied to any of the other versions of DC characters being displayed on the big screen at the moment. The look and style of the film is heavily inspired by Martin Scorsese crime dramas of the 1970s and ’80s, particularly Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, which is perfectly in line with graphic novels that reimagine characters in different settings, something DC’s Elseworlds imprint did all the time. So, this movie is basically just what if the Joker were a Scorsese antihero.

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The bonus materials for his initial home video release of Joker are somewhat sparse given its impact. The primary extra is “Joker: Vision & Fury,” a pretty good 22-and-a-half-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that includes interviews with many of the filmmakers and cast discussing how they sought to present their distinct vision of the character and his circumstances.

The other three featurettes are short highlight reels. “Becoming Joker” is a minute-and-a-half montage of Phoenix test footage; “Please Welcome … Joker!” is a nearly three-minute compilation of alternate takes of Joker’s entrance onto the late-night talk show that plays a central role in the story; and “Joker: A Chronicle of Chaos” is little more than a three-minute slideshow of photos from the movie.

A commentary with Phillips is available exclusively through copies of the film on iTunes, which owners of the Blu-ray can access as a result of the Movies Anywhere redemption code included with the disc.

‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ Leads Golden Globes as Traditional Studios Dominate Film Categories, Streamers Take a Handful of TV Trophies

Traditional studios led the way in the film categories, while streamers and Pay-TV networks divvied up the TV categories at the 77th Annual Golden Globes ceremony Jan. 5 in a ceremony held in Los Angeles and broadcast on NBC.

The Golden Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and are seen as one of the bigger precursors to the Academy Awards.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood won three Globes, including Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, Best Screenplay for Quentin Tarantino, and Best Supporting Actor for Brad Pitt. The film is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and digitally from Sony Pictures.

Best Motion Picture — Drama went to Universal Pictures’ World War I film 1917, which was recently released in theaters. The film also won Best Director for Sam Mendes.

South Korea’s Parasite won Best Motion Picture — Foreign Language. Universal Pictures will release the film digitally Jan. 14, and on Blu-ray and DVD Jan. 28.

Best Motion Picture — Animated went to Fox’s Missing Link, now available on Blu-ray, DVD and digital.

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Warner’s Joker won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama for Joaquin Phoenix, and Best Original Score for Hildur Guðnadóttir. The film, a dark imagining of the origin of the DC Comics Batman villain, is available now digitally, and on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Jan. 7.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama went to Renee Zellweger for playing Judy Garland in Judy, which is now available on Blu-ray, DVD and digitally from Lionsgate.

A24’s The Farewell, on Blu-ray, DVD and digital from Lionsgate, won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for Awkwafina.

Taron Egerton won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for playing Elton John in Rocketman. The film also won Best Original Song for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Rocketman is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and digitally.

Netflix did find some love in one movie category, as Marriage Story won Best Supporting Actress for Laura Dern.

Netflix also won in the TV categories with the third season of “The Crown,” as Olivia Colman won Best Actress in a TV Series — Drama after taking over the role of Queen Elizabeth II from Claire Foy, who had previously won for the role in the category during the show’s first season.

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HBO programming won four awards, with “Succession” taking two, winning Best Television Series — Drama for its just concluded its second season, and Brian Cox for Best Actor in a TV Series. The miniseries Chernobyl won Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, with Stellan Skarsgard taking the trophy for best performance by a supporting actor on television.

Amazon Prime Video’s “Fleabag” repeated its Emmy success, taking Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy for creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Hulu series took a couple of trophies as well, with Ramy Youssef of “Ramy” winning Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy, and Patricia Arquette of “The Act” taking the award for best supporting actress on television.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television went to Russell Crowe for Showtime’s The Loudest Voice, on DVD from Paramount and CBS.

FX’s Fosse/Verdon won Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Michelle Williams, following her Emmy win for the role.

Several presenters and winners took a moment to call attention to the devastating bush fires in Australia. But aside from a smattering of more pointed comments throughout the night, honorees largely avoided the kind of blatant politicizing these kinds of awards ceremonies are often criticized for. Host Ricky Gervais began the event by calling out Hollywood hypocrisy in his opening monologue.

“Apple rolled into the TV game with ‘The Morning Show,’ a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing, made by a company that runs sweatshops in China,” Gervais said to a smattering of shocked laughter. “You say you’re woke but the companies you work for, I mean unbelievable, Apple, Amazon, Disney, if ISIS started a streaming service, you’d call your agent. Wouldn’t you?”

“So if you do win an award tonight, don’t use this as a platform to make a political speech right, you’re in no position to lecture the public about anything,” Gervais continued. “You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So if you win, all right, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent, and your god, and f**k off, OK.”

Warner Sets ‘Joker’ for Digital Release Dec. 17, Disc Jan. 7

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release the acclaimed blockbuster Joker through digital retailers Dec. 17, and on Blu-ray Disc, DVD and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Jan. 7.

Directed, co-written and produced by Todd Phillips, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix as the title character based on the iconic Batman villain, a man struggling to find his way in Gotham City’s fractured society in the early 1980s.

The cast also includes Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, Marc Maron, Douglas Hodge, Josh Pais and Leigh Gill.

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The film has earned $330.5 million at the domestic box office and is the first ‘R’-rated film to earn more than $1 billion worldwide.

Home video extras include the featurettes “Joker: Vision & Fury,” “Becoming Joker,” “Please Welcome … Joker!” and “Joker: A Chronicle of Chaos.”

The Ultra HD Blu-ray disc of Joker will feature a Dolby Atmos soundtrack.

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