Venom: The Last Dance had trouble hitting a home run at the domestic box office, but more than made up for the deficit overseas by boasting a worldwide opening on par with the last installment. And it had no problem landing in first place nationally and globally.
The final title in Sony's franchise, based on the popular comic book antihero, opened with $51 million in 4,131 theaters, well below its expected $65 million, or $96 million domestic launch. Venom: Let there be carnage. The opposite was true abroad, where Last dance debuted in line with expectations with $124 million for a $175 million global start against a relatively modest $120 million budget. This includes a substantial sum of $46 million from China.
There's no doubt that the World Series matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees had an impact on the box office, but fans in both Los Angeles and New York still led all markets in Poison 3. Insiders close to the film also worry that people will be distracted by the early Halloween festivities. It's not uncommon for threequels to fall apart, but none in this case Poison the team is happy with the severity of the decline.
In North America, the first Poison opened to $80.2 million in 2018, then a record for October. He lost the crown a year later Joker ($96.2 million). Let there be carnage debuted in October 2021 with a gross of $90 million, a boon for theater owners still recovering from the pandemic and a major win for Sony.
The series has never been a critical success, as the latest installment landed on Rotten Tomatoes with a critic score of 37%. The latest film earned a worse B CinemaScore than the franchise from audiences.
Directed by Kelly Marcel, Poison 3 stars Tom Hardy, who returns in the lead role. Hardy also co-wrote the screenplay with his longtime creative partner Marcel, who makes his directorial debut with the film.
Paramount and Temple Hill Smile 2 placed second in its second outing, dropping 59% to $9.4 million for a 10-day domestic gross of $40.7 million. (Estimates on Saturday showed the horror film is on the rise, underscoring the World Series' impact on the overall market.)
Award contenders aimed at older audiences fared better.
Headed to third base is Edward Berger's Oscar contender Conclavethe other new national opening of the weekend. The acclaimed Vatican-set thriller about the election of a new pope has grossed about $6.5 million from 1,753 theaters, the best opening to date for a feature film in contention in this year's awards race.
Produced and financed by FilmNation and Indian Paintbrush, the film's stellar cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini. Universal-owned Focus Features will distribute the film domestically. Over 44% of the audience was 55 or older, a staggering number.
Universal reports Conclave is nearly tied for third place with DreamWorks Animation/Universal The wild robotwhich earned approximately $6.5 million from $3,427 in its fifth weekend.
The special film by A24 We live in timewhich continued to expand, rounded out the top five with an estimated $4.8 million from 2,924 theaters for a domestic gross of $11.8 million, the best projection of 2024 to date for a platform release , according to the independent distributor. John Crowley directed the romantic drama starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh.
Elsewhere at the awards box office, Sean Baker and Neon's Anora continued to impress by expanding to a total of 34 theaters, pushing the weekend's highest location average ($25,504).
More to come.
October 27, 8.20am: Updated with revised estimates.
This story was originally published Oct. 26 at 9:25 a.m