Unfortunately, the theater industry took it on the chin over the weekend. However, the good news was thatVenom: The Last Danceemerged atop thebox officefor the third week in a row. But here’s the bad news: The weekend turned out to be the lowest-grossing of the fall movie season with an estimated total of only $67.2 million domestically (perThe Numbers). The previous low belonged to the weekend of October 18-20 ($67.8 million), which was headlined by No. 1Smile 2.However, if there was a silver lining, it’s that Sony’s symbiote continued to catch audiences in its gooey money-making web.
Venom 3made $16.2 million to take the No. 1 spot, which only added to the Tom Hardy-led film’s overall domestic total of $114.8 million. And international audiences turned out even stronger to supportThe Last Dance, as director Kelly Marcel’s Spidey spin-off has brought in an additional $279.4 million overseas.Thanks to those numbers, Hardy’s final appearance as the anti-hero in Sony’s trilogy is flirting with $400 million worldwide.
Meanwhile, the two newcomers which did manage to crack the Top 5 simply didn’t have enough fight in them to challengeVenom 3for No.1.Lionsgate’s No. 2The Best Christmas Pageant Ever($11.1 million) just edged out A24’s frightening flick, No. 3Heretic($11 million), for the silver medal over the weekend.The Wild Robotchecked in at No. 4 ($6.7 million) andSmile 2rounded out the Top 5 with $5 million. Now, it’s true that the fall movie season has suffered its fair share of disappointment, but help is on the way.
Box Office Business Will Boom Soon
This weekend wasn’t all bad news for the movie industry, despite the record-setting low numbers posted. For instance, Barry Keoghan’s new film,Bird,posted a gaudy per-theater average ($24,104) during its limited release. And whilelast week’s No. 1 filmcontinues to reign over the box office,Venom: The Last Dancewill soon have some much-needed competition to help bolster the struggling fall movie season — and, no,it’s not going to be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’sRed Onethat saves the day.To be fair, though, The Rock’s team-up with Chris Evans did make $26 million during its premiere overseas this weekend.
Gladiator IIand the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway smashWickedboth open on Nov. 22 to get a head start on Thanksgiving weekend. And these two blockbuster hopefuls are the first ray of hope for the theater industry after what’s been a rather disappointing fall movie season. Director Ridley Scott and Denzel Washington’s Colosseum-sized collaboration is forecast to make $65 million domestically (perDeadline) over its opening weekend, whileWickedis projected to cast an even larger spell over audiences en route to an $80+ million debut.
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Now,Gladiator IIandWicked’sbox officeperformances will certainly help theaters that are desperate to make money, but these titles’ predicted numbers pale in comparison to whatMoana 2is forecast to post. The highly anticipated sequel, which opens on Nov. 27, could make anywhere between $125 million and $135 million over the 5-day Thanksgiving weekend, according toThe Hollywood Reporter.
For now, though, moviegoers will have to settle forVenom: The Last Dance.And don’t sleep on Hugh Grant’s indelible performance as Mr. Reed in the must-see,Heretic. Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans team up next week whenthe Christmas-centricRed Oneopens domestically on Nov. 15.
Venom: The Last Dance
Venom 3 is the third and final installment in Sony’s symbiote trilogy starring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock. It follows the events of Let There Be Carnage, where the anti-hero fought serial killer Cletus Kasady, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, where Brock was briefly transported to the MCU through the multiverse.
