Ahead of its theatrical release, Joker — DC’s stand-alone spin-off that offers an alternate origin story for Batman’s most popular adversary — has unwittingly caused fear and anxiety, with some worried the film, centered on an unhinged loner (played by Joaquin Phoenix), would inspire violence. In New York City, undercover police were even ordered to sit in theaters, in case something bad went down. The astonishingly profitable opening weekend went largely without incident, with exceptions. Among those is a theater in Long Beach, California whose audience self-evacuated due to a “suspicious” suspect.
As per Long Beach Post (and picked up by Deadline), at a Joker showing on Saturday night, an adult male wearing a backpack walked to the front of the theater and started surveying the crowd. Fearing the worst, the audience quickly ran out of the theater, causing the management to call the police. When they arrived, they apprehended the suspect, and though they found no weapons, they arrested him on an outstanding warrant.
This wasn’t the only Joker-related event over the weekend, nor the only one in the area. On Thursday, a Huntington Beach theater closed entirely after receiving a credible threat involving the movie.
Despite the fears leading up to its release, Joker had a record-breaking opening, netting $93.5 million in North America alone. The controversial movie — helmed by Todd Phillips, of the Hangover trilogy — also walked off with the top prize at the Venice Film Festival over a month before it opened worldwide.
(Via Long Beach Post and Deadline)
