“Venom: The Last Dance” is opening with slower ticket sales compared to its predecessors, having accumulated $22 million from 4,131 domestic theaters on its opening day, including previews. This figure falls short of the initial performances of the first “Venom” (which earned $32 million) and its sequel, “Let There Be Carnage,” which debuted at $37 million.
Consequently, Columbia Pictures’ final installment in the trilogy is projected to underperform against earlier estimates, which anticipated an opening weekend closer to $65 million. This decline signals a troubling trend for the franchise in the U.S.
However, “The Last Dance,” co-financed by TSG, is still poised to achieve the largest domestic opening weekend since “Beetlejuice” in September. Sony is optimistic about international markets to help improve its financial outlook, as seen with the previous “Venom” films.
Expectations suggest that the film will slightly surpass the global opening of “Let There Be Carnage.” Both earlier films performed exceptionally well internationally, with the original grossing an impressive $642 million outside North America, while the sequel still managed to bring in $293 million abroad.
Despite having a production budget of $120 million—more modest than many superhero films—”The Last Dance” will need to attract strong international audiences to ensure it is a profitable venture.
Although reviews have not been favorable, this hasn’t deterred the “Venom” franchise in the past. Nevertheless, fan enthusiasm appears to have waned, as evidenced by a “B-” rating from audience survey firm Cinemascore, contrasting with the “B+” scores received by both previous installments.
Recent comic book adaptations, excluding standout hits like Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine,” have struggled to capture the vast audiences that characterized the genre in previous years. Sony faced a setback earlier this year with “Madame Web,” another “Spider-Man” spinoff that barely surpassed $100 million globally.
While Tom Hardy has suggested the possibility of exploring more “symbiote stories,” it seems plausible that “The Last Dance” may be the Marvel antihero’s last film for a while, especially if box office returns fall short of expectations.
Returning to the screen, Kelly Marcel, who penned both previous “Venom” films, takes on the directorial role for this installment, with Hardy reprising his role as the weary journalist Eddie Brock and voicing the menacing symbiote. The cast also includes new faces such as Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach, and Cristo Fernandez, while Stephen Graham returns from “Venom 2.”
In a bid for third place during its opening, Focus Features is widely releasing its papal thriller “Conclave,” which received positive reviews at both the Telluride and Toronto film festivals. Directed by Edward Berger, known for his acclaimed film “All Quiet on the Western Front,” the Vatican-themed feature grossed $2.5 million on its opening day from 1,753 theaters.
Meanwhile, it attracted an older audience, with 77% of ticket buyers aged 35 and older, and received a “B+” grade on Cinemascore. “Conclave” hopes to maintain momentum aided by award buzz, particularly for its stars Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini.
Paramount’s “Smile 2” is expected to drop to second place after a strong debut last weekend, with projections estimating $10.3 million for its second week—a 55% decrease. Replicating the first “Smile” film’s impressive 18% drop was always considered unlikely. Nonetheless, with a relatively low production budget of $28 million, “Smile 2” remains in a favorable position, likely crossing the $40 million mark by Sunday.
“The Wild Robot” continues to perform well, projecting $6.2 million during its fifth weekend of release. The animated feature from DreamWorks looks to exceed $110 million by Sunday. It will soon surpass “IF” ($111 million) and “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” ($113 million) to become the 13th highest-grossing domestic release of the year.
A24’s “We Live in Time” earned approximately $1.83 million on Friday as it expands to nearly 2,000 additional locations in its second week. Analysts are predicting a $5 million weekend for the film, featuring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, representing a 20% increase from the previous week. The film is on track to surpass the $10 million mark in North America by Saturday.
In its third weekend, “Terrifier 3” is anticipated to gross around $4.5 million, marking a 51% decline. This indie horror success from Cineverse is expected to surpass $44 million by Sunday, tripling the combined earnings of both “Terrifier” and “Terrifier 2,” with additional revenue anticipated.