Venice Lookback: When ‘Joker’ took the festival, and skeptics, by surprise

AP Film Writer

After $1 billion at the box office, 11 Oscar nominations and two major wins, including for Joaquin Phoenix, it’s easy to forget the handwringing over “Joker.” In the lead up to its release in October 2019, the Todd Phillips film hit a cultural inflection point that had divisions forming before most had even seen it. Even its inclusion in the main competition at the Venice Film Festival was enough to get people gossiping. Before the sequel debuts at Venice on Sept. 4, The Associated Press looks back at its rollout five years ago.