NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� showed less bite than expected at the box office, collecting $51 million in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, significantly down from the alien symbiote franchise鈥檚 previous entries.
Projections for the third 鈥淰enom鈥� film from Sony Pictures had been closer to $65 million. More concerning, though, was the drop off from the first two 鈥淰enom鈥� films. The 2018 original debuted with $80.2 million, while the 2021 follow-up, 鈥淰enom: Let There Be Carnage,鈥� opened with $90 million even as theaters were still in recovery mode during the pandemic.
鈥淭he Last Dance,鈥� as a journalist who shares his body with an alien entity also voiced by Hardy, could still turn a profit for Sony. Its production budget, not accounting for promotion and marketing, was about $120 million 鈥� significantly less than most comic-book films.
But 鈥淭he Last Dance鈥� is also performing better overseas. Internationally, 鈥淰enom: The Last Dance鈥� collected $124 million over the weekend, including $46 million over five days of release in China. That鈥檚 good enough for one of the best international weekends of the year for a Hollywood release.
Still, neither reviews (36% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) nor audience scores (a franchise-low 鈥淏-鈥� CinemaScore) have been good for the film scripted by Kelly Marcel and Hardy, and directed by Marcel.
The low weekend for 鈥淰enom: The Last Dance鈥� also likely insures that superhero films will see their lowest-grossing year in a dozen years, not counting the pandemic year of 2020, according to David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.
Following on the heels of the Gross estimates that 2024 superhero films will gross about $2.25 billion worldwide. The only upcoming entry is Marvel鈥檚 鈥淜raven the Hunter,鈥� due out Dec. 13. Even with the $1.3 billion of 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine,鈥� the genre hasn鈥檛, overall, been dominating the way it once did. In 2018, for example, superhero films accounted for more than $7 billion in global ticket sales.
, the Paramount Pictures horror sequel 鈥淪mile 2,鈥� dropped to second place with $9.4 million. That brings its two-week total to $83.7 million worldwide.
The weekend鈥檚 biggest success story might have been and directed by Edward Berger (鈥淎ll Quiet on the Western Front鈥�). The Focus Features release, a major Oscar contender, launched with $6.5 million in 1,753 theaters.
That put 鈥淐onclave鈥� into third place, making it the rare adult-oriented drama to make a mark theatrically. Some 77% of ticket buyers were over the age of 35, Focus said. With a strong opening and stellar reviews, 鈥淐onclave鈥� could continue to gather momentum both with moviegoers and Oscar voters.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
