UPDATE-'Joker' Wins Golden Lion Award At Venice Film Festival Ahead Of Release

Its a great time for DC fans as the Joker film is already doing so

well ahead of it’s release. The movie which starrs Joaquin Phoenix as the DC supervillain, won the Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice Film Festival.

The film, which premiered at the festival, is now the highest honored movie of the 76 edition of the oldest film festival in the world. Previous honoreers include Rashomon, Brokeback Mountain, and Roma.

Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role and was directed by Todd Phillips. Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Douglas Hodge, and Brian Tyree Henry are also in the movie.

It’s an unusual victory for a comic book film, though, for a dramatic title that owes massively to Taxi Driver and stars an auteur’s actor like Joaquin Phoenix, it’s a little less surprising. 

Accepting the award, director Todd Phillips thanked Warner Bros and DC, “for stepping out of their comfort zone and taking such a bold swing on me and this movie,” and his star, saying, “There is no movie without Joaquin Phoenix. Joaquin is the fiercest and brightest and most open-minded lion I know. Thank you for trusting me with your insane talent.”

Joker will hit the big screens next month on October 4th, 2019.