As a critic with over three decades of experience under my belt, I have to say that “Venom: The Last Dance” feels more like a swan song than a triumphant finale for this anti-hero series. The third installment has certainly left me feeling a tad disappointed and somewhat deflated, much like the flat opening numbers it’s been garnering at the box office.
As a passionate film enthusiast, I found myself in the theater for “Venom: The Last Dance,” expecting a blockbuster experience based on its top-spot at the box office. However, it didn’t quite live up to my anticipations when compared to comic book films of yesteryears.
In its debut in North American theaters, the third installment of Sony’s Marvel antihero series starring Tom Hardy, garnered approximately $51 million. Industry experts predict that the final weekend earnings will fall below $50 million. These ticket sales are significantly lower than the projected $65 million and are far behind the opening weekends of the previous Venom movies in 2018 and 2021, which earned $80 million and $90 million respectively upon release.
Despite a gentle debut in North America, the “Spider-Man” spinoff, “Venom 3”, is seeing an uptick in popularity thanks to international viewers. The film has raked in $124 million from overseas markets, pushing its global total to $175 million.
In comparison to blockbuster superhero films such as “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which each carry production costs over $200 million, the cost of producing “The Last Dance” was only $120 million. This figure doesn’t include global marketing expenses. However, due to theater owners retaining around half of ticket sales, the third installment of “Venom” needs to continue its run in cinemas beyond its opening weekend to cover these high costs. Notably, the first “Venom” grossed $856 million worldwide and “Let There Be Carnage” surpassed $500 million globally, despite having had larger initial releases.
The current installment of this series has not received much praise from critics, earning a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite this, it seems that the franchise’s fanbase may also be losing interest, as evidenced by the film receiving a “B-” grade on CinemaScore – the lowest mark among the trilogy. Previously written by Kelly Marcel, this PG-13 movie serves as the third part of the series and features Tom Hardy reprising his roles as both investigative journalist Eddie Brock and his unlikely companion Venom, an alien symbiote. Both characters are on the run from their respective realms in this production.
According to Jeff Bock, an analyst from Exhibitor Relations, this movie had less substantial content compared to previous ones, and even the trailers made it clear to viewers. Fans of superheroes expect the tension to escalate in each new release, but that didn’t occur with ‘The Last Dance’.
Box office earnings are currently lagging about 11.4% compared to the same time in 2023, and a significant 26.8% behind the levels of 2019. Due to reluctance from major studios to release films near the election, there aren’t many upcoming titles. The only movies set for release in the coming weeks are Sony’s “Here,” a drama directed by Robert Zemeckis with Tom Hanks and Robin Wright using digital de-aging (Nov. 1), and Amazon’s Christmas comedy “Red One,” featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Santa’s security chief (Nov. 15). Until November 22, there won’t be another major release to boost cinema attendance; this includes the anticipated sequels “Gladiator 2” and “Wicked,” followed by “Moana 2” on November 27.
David A. Gross, from Franchise Entertainment Research, notes that moviegoing is experiencing a decline, with ‘Joker 2’ leaving a noticeable void and ‘Venom 3’ not fully compensating for it. In his words, there’s currently a lack of significant drive in the industry.
In its fourth week of release, “Joker: Folie à Deux” dropped to the 12th position, earning a disappointing $600,000 from 1,243 theaters. The sequel to the billion-dollar blockbuster “Joker” (2019) has become a box office flop, grossing just $57.8 million in the US and $193 million globally. In stark contrast, the original “Joker” stayed in the top two positions for five weeks and garnered $335 million domestically and over $2.1 billion worldwide. With a budget of $200 million, it’s unlikely that “Joker: Folie à Deux” will reach those earnings and is expected to lose between $150-$200 million during its theatrical run.
The Ralph Fiennes-starring thriller “Conclave,” directed by Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front”), debuted at No. 3, surpassing predictions with a $6.5 million earnings from 1,753 cinemas. This Vatican-based drama about the papal election, concealing secrets that might rock the church’s foundations, has garnered positive reviews and aims to compete in the Oscars. Focus Features obtained domestic rights for this PG-rated movie, which received a “B+” on CinemaScore. The majority of viewers were older males, with 77% being over 35 and 54% identifying as male.
According to Gross, this opening for the awards drama is quite exceptional. The Catholic Church offers a wealth of dramatic and cinematic content that seems inexhaustible.
In other domestic cinemas, the second installment of Paramount’s thriller “Smile 2” dropped to the second spot with earnings of $9.6 million, marking a 59% decrease from its opening weekend. This R-rated sequel to the 2022 hit “Smile,” which took the top spot at the box office last week, has amassed $40.7 million in North America and $83 million worldwide so far. With a production budget of $28 million, it is expected to turn a profit, although it may not achieve the same level of success as the original, which grossed $105 million domestically and $217 million internationally.
In its fifth weekend, “The Wild Robot,” a joint production between Universal and DreamWorks Animation, slid down to the fourth spot with earnings of $6.2 million. Despite being well-received by critics, the family movie has shown remarkable stability at the box office, experiencing only minor decreases in revenue. As a result, it has accumulated a total domestic gross of $111 million and an impressive worldwide total of $232 million.
In a fifth position, A24’s emotional romantic drama “We Live in Time,” featuring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, garnered $4.8 million as it expanded to 1,939 theaters. To date, the film has amassed a robust total of $11.7 million.
Simultaneously, Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning film “Anora” made it to the top 10 earners with a total of $867,142 from only 34 theaters. This equates to a strong average earnings of $25,504 per theater. Neon acquired the rights for the movie at Cannes and plans to expand its screenings for “Anora” throughout the fall and into awards season. The film offers a humorous perspective on an exotic dancer and sex worker who ties the knot with the son of a Russian oligarch.
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2024-10-27 18:48