'Venom 3' tops US box office, still lags behind predecessors
What's the story
The third and final installment of Sony's Venom series, Venom: The Last Dance, has maintained its No. 1 spot at the US box office for three weeks in a row. However, despite its success, it continues to lag behind its predecessors in terms of earnings. Over the weekend, it added $16.2 million to its domestic total which now stands at $114.8 million (₹864cr), taking its global earnings to $394 million (₹2,968cr).
Box office projection
'Venom: The Last Dance' projected to cross $400 million
Despite trailing behind its predecessors, Venom: The Last Dance is expected to breach the $400 million mark as it continues to run on nearly 4,000 screens. By this time five years ago, the first Venom film released in 2018 had grossed $171 million domestically. Likewise, the second installment, Venom: Let There Be Carnage released mid-pandemic in 2021 had collected $168 million by its third week. In India, it performed well initially, raking in ₹40cr in seven days, but soon withered.
Sony's ranking
'Venom: The Last Dance' ranks 8th in Sony's highest-grossing films
Venom is now Sony's eighth highest-grossing film at the global box office. It falls behind Marvel Studios co-production Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.9 billion), the James Bond sequel Skyfall ($1.14 billion), Spider-Man: Far From Home ($1.13 billion), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ($962 million), 2007's Spider-Man 3 ($894 million), Spectre ($880.6 million), and Spider-Man: Homecoming ($880.1 million).
Upcoming challenges
'Venom 3' faces competition from upcoming releases
The film's box office reign is likely to be challenged by the release of Red One, an Amazon MGM Dwayne Johnson-Chris Evans Christmas comedy, which is projected to open with earnings of $20-40 million. Other films competing for box office supremacy include Gladiator II and Wicked releasing later this month. Disney's animated Moana 2 is also expected to make a huge impact with its projected massive $125 million-$135 million opening over Thanksgiving weekend.
Franchise comparison
'Venom 3' opened to franchise low, surpassed by 'Black Adam'
Venom 3 debuted with a franchise low of $51 million in October, underperforming Johnson's DC movie Black Adam which was released over the same weekend in 2022. Despite comparable Rotten Tomatoes scores (39% for Venom 3 vs 41% for Black Adam), the latter ended its run with $390 million worldwide. The Rotten Tomatoes score for Venom 3 was above average for Sony's Spider-Man Universe but shows diminishing returns.