Joker, the 2019 movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, came out in US theaters on October 4, 2019. The sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, reached theaters on October 4, 2024, five years to the day. The Joker character himself first appeared in Batman #1, which went on sale on April 25, 1940.
Those are the two dates most people mean when they search this question. The full answer depends on which Joker you have in mind: the Phoenix films, the 1989 Batman with Jack Nicholson, or the original comic book debut.
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Joker release dates at a glance
- Batman #1 (first Joker story): April 25, 1940
- Batman (Jack Nicholson): June 23, 1989
- The Dark Knight (Heath Ledger): July 18, 2008
- Suicide Squad (Jared Leto): August 5, 2016
- Joker (Joaquin Phoenix): October 4, 2019
- Joker: Folie à Deux: October 4, 2024
All dates above are US theatrical openings. Several international markets saw these films a day or two earlier.
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The 2019 Joker movie: full release timeline
Joker premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 31, 2019 and took the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion, on September 7. Warner Bros. then rolled the film out across the world over the next month.
- August 31, 2019: world premiere at Venice
- Early October 2019: international openings in most markets
- October 4, 2019: United States and Canada
- December 17, 2019: digital rental and purchase
- January 7, 2020: Blu-ray and DVD
The film never opened in China. It went on to become the first R-rated movie to pass $1 billion at the worldwide box office, a mark it crossed in November 2019.
Joker: Folie à Deux release date and reception
The sequel premiered at Venice on September 4, 2024 and opened in US theaters on October 4, 2024. Lady Gaga played Harley Quinn opposite Phoenix, and the film was built as a courtroom drama with musical numbers.
Reviews were harsh, and ticket sales landed far below the first film. Warner Bros. has not announced a third Joker movie, so October 4, 2024 stands as the latest date in the series.
When did the Joker character first appear?
The Joker debuted in Batman #1 from DC Comics, on newsstands April 25, 1940. The issue carried a Spring 1940 cover date, which is why some sources list 1940 and others cite the April on-sale date.
Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson are credited with creating him. The character started as a one-off killer in a single story and came back because readers responded to him.
Other Joker films and their release dates
Batman opened on June 23, 1989 and became the highest-grossing film of that year. Jack Nicholson played the Joker opposite Michael Keaton.
The Dark Knight arrived on July 18, 2008. Heath Ledger's performance won him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the first acting Oscar for a superhero film.
Suicide Squad followed on August 5, 2016, with Jared Leto in a much smaller role. Leto returned for Zack Snyder's Justice League in 2021.
Which actor played the Joker, and when did each film come out?
- Cesar Romero in Batman: The Movie (1966)
- Jack Nicholson in Batman (1989)
- Mark Hamill as the voice in Batman: The Animated Series (1992)
- Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (2008)
- Jared Leto in Suicide Squad (2016) and Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
- Joaquin Phoenix in Joker (2019) and Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)
- Barry Keoghan in a short scene in The Batman (2022)
Is there going to be a Joker 3?
No third film has been announced. Director Todd Phillips has said he is done with the character, and Phoenix has spoken about the role in the past tense. Treat any Joker 3 release date you see online as unconfirmed unless it comes from Warner Bros.
Common questions about Joker release dates
Did Joker come out in 2019 or 2020?
2019. The US theatrical release was October 4, 2019. The 2020 dates you may see belong to the home video and streaming windows that followed.
Was Joker streaming the same day it came out?
No. The film had an exclusive theatrical run of about ten weeks. Digital sales started on December 17, 2019, and discs arrived on January 7, 2020.
Which Joker movie came out first?
Batman: The Movie (1966) was the first Joker film of all, spun off from the TV series. Batman (1989) was the first in the modern blockbuster era.
Why did both Phoenix films open on October 4?
Warner Bros. set Folie à Deux for the fifth anniversary of the first film. The shared date was a marketing choice, not a scheduling accident.
Where can I watch Joker now?
Streaming rights move between services every few years and differ by country. Check a region-specific streaming search before you plan a watch night.