'Joker' director Todd Phillips says 'none of us thought an R-rated film could make over 1 billion'

'Joker' was the subject of heated controversy in 2019. It was either revered and considered a 'path-breaking' film for the DC murder-clown, or it was despised and considered a shoddy excuse for the justification of violence. Yet, months after its release, the film continues to remain a talking point among fans.

Recently, director Todd Phillips has been faced with questions of whether the entire excitement around the film was due to its association with Batman. 'Joker' related the grimy origin story of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a loner on the periphery of a merciless society, and his devolvement into the devious DC criminal.

Phillips said he believes his work stands on his own. "I think it was more than that. I mean, I think there are themes in the movie that really resonated with people. None of us thought an R-rated movie could do over $1 billion across the world. But I think the themes in it really resonated. The thing Scott Silver and I set out to do when we wrote the movie together was to make something meaningful in that comic book space, but also something really that addressed what was going on in 2016, when we started writing. It’s pretty obvious what was happening in our country in 2017 while we were writing it, and really wanted to use Joker to make a movie about the loss of compassion and the lack of decorum in the world," he told Deadline. 

"I’ve been around the world with the movie,” he added, “And, speaking to the audiences, some people see it as an indictment of America and other people see it as a mirror for what’s going on in their country, both with the lack of compassion and with the wealth and equality issues."

There has been hype on whether Joker will be a strong Oscar contender. While this remains to be seen, there's no doubt that the buzz around the film will take quite a while to subside.