NEW YORK (AP) ā 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 franchiseās previous entries.
Projections for the third āVenomā film from Sony Pictures had been closer to $65 million. More concerning, though, was the drop off from the first two āVenomā films. The 2018 original debuted with $80.2 million, while the 2021 follow-up, āVenom: Let There Be Carnage,ā opened with $90 million even as theaters were still in recovery mode during the pandemic.
āThe Last Dance,ā 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 ā significantly less than most comic-book films.
But āThe Last Danceā is also performing better overseas. Internationally, āVenom: The Last Danceā collected $124 million over the weekend, including $46 million over five days of release in China. Thatās 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 āB-ā CinemaScore) have been good for the film scripted by Kelly Marcel and Hardy, and directed by Marcel.
The low weekend for āVenom: The Last Danceā 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 Marvelās āKraven the Hunter,ā due out Dec. 13. Even with the $1.3 billion of āDeadpool & Wolverine,ā the genre hasnāt, 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 āSmile 2,ā dropped to second place with $9.4 million. That brings its two-week total to $83.7 million worldwide.
The weekendās biggest success story might have been and directed by Edward Berger (āAll Quiet on the Western Frontā). The Focus Features release, a major Oscar contender, launched with $6.5 million in 1,753 theaters.
That put āConclaveā 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, āConclaveā could continue to gather momentum both with moviegoers and Oscar voters.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
