Todd Phillips’s Joker won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

At the 76th Film Festival in Venice, the DC film received the highest honor. It also received an eight-minute standing ovation after its premiere.

The director of the film Todd Phillips told The Hollywood Reporter, “Warner Bros. and DC for stepping out of their comfort zone and taking such a bold swing on me and this movie.”

He further commended the acting of Joaquin Phoenix. 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.”

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Furthermore, An Officer and a Spy came in second place. It won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize. However, Roman Polanski was not present to accept the award.

Related: Joker Becomes Highest-Rated ‘Comic Book’ Film Before It’s Release

Even though the film will not release for another month, it has already received high ratings after premiering at film festivals. The film is currently rated at 9.7/10 on IMDb. Leaving behind The Dark Knight at  9/10 while the Endgame at 8.5/10 and sequel to Endgame, Infinity War with the rating of 8.4/10.

The newest DC film stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a failed comedian in 1981 who descends into madness to become the infamous villain ‘The Joker’. The film also stars Frances Conroy as the Joker’s mother, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, and Marc Maron.

The movie has been rated R and will take a dark turn as the origin story of Batmans arch-nemesis will be shown.

Joker will release in cinemas on October 4.