Venom: The Last Dance Reigns Supreme at Box Office for Third Weekend

By
Isaac M
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6

“Venom: The Last Dance” hasn’t shattered records in North American theaters, but in a slow fall movie season, even a moderately performing superhero sequel can reign supreme at the box office for three consecutive weeks.

For the third weekend in a row, “Venom: The Last Dance” topped the box office, raking in $16.2 million in ticket sales across U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday. The film managed to fend off competition from two new entries: the Hugh Grant-starring horror thriller “Heretic” and the feel-good holiday flick “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”


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In a noticeable gap in new releases, likely due to the upcoming election on Tuesday, major studios refrained from debuting new films. This decision allowed Sony Pictures’ “Venom: The Last Dance,” the third installment in the Tom Hardy-led franchise, to maintain its top position unchallenged.

While “The Last Dance” didn’t meet domestic expectations upon its late October release, it has found considerable success internationally, earning nearly three times its North American gross. The “Venom” sequel has brought in $279.4 million overseas, pushing its global total to $394.2 million.

Meanwhile, “Heretic” and “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” were in a tight race for second place. Judging solely by Friday-Sunday ticket sales, “Heretic” took the lead with an $11 million debut. However, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” factored in $2.2 million from sneak-peek screenings the previous weekend, bringing its reported opening gross to $11.1 million.

A24’s “Heretic,” directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, follows two Mormon missionaries, played by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, who encounter a sinister man, portrayed by Hugh Grant, during their evangelizing efforts. Despite critical acclaim for Grant’s dark performance, audiences gave the film a lukewarm “C+” CinemaScore. Nevertheless, with a budget under $10 million, “Heretic” is set to turn a profit.

On the other hand, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” released by Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company, which specializes in Christian films, tells the story of six troublesome siblings who take over the local church pageant. Directed by Dallas Jenkins and based on Barbara Robinson’s 1972 children’s book, the film resonated well with audiences, earning an “A” CinemaScore. It was also modestly budgeted at around $10 million.

Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot” continues to perform steadily in its seventh week, securing fourth place with $6.6 million. This brings its domestic total to $130.2 million and a worldwide gross of $292 million.

Sean Baker’s critically acclaimed film “Anora,” starring Mikey Madison as a Brooklyn sex worker, expanded into wide release, collecting $2.4 million from 1,104 theaters. Its cumulative total over four weeks is now at $7.2 million.

The papal thriller “Conclave,” featuring Ralph Fiennes, continues to draw audiences. In its third weekend, the Focus Features film added 487 theaters and saw only a modest 19% dip, earning $4.1 million. Its total stands at $21.5 million. Similarly, A24’s “We Live in Time,” starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, remains strong, grossing $2.2 million in its fifth weekend for a cumulative $21.8 million.

Despite these figures, overall ticket sales remain sluggish. According to Comscore, the box office is running about 11% behind last year. Ticket sales over the last two weeks have dropped approximately 50% compared to pre-pandemic averages, as noted by David A. Gross, a film consultant for Franchise Entertainment.

However, there is hope on the horizon for theaters. Several big releases are lined up in the coming weeks, including Amazon MGM’s Christmas comedy “Red One” on November 15, Paramount Pictures’ “Gladiator II” and Universal’s “Wicked” on November 22, and Walt Disney Co.’s “Moana 2” on November 27.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, expressed optimism for the holiday season, noting, “Better late than never is the rule of the day and we can expect some positive success stories coming out of the Thanksgiving corridor.”

Before its U.S. debut, “Red One,” starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, opened in 75 overseas markets, collecting $26.6 million. The film carries a significant production cost of around $250 million.

Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, are as follows:

  1. “Venom: The Last Dance,” $16.2 million.
  2. “Heretic,” $11 million.
  3. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” $8.9 million.
  4. “The Wild Robot,” $6.7 million.
  5. “Smile 2,” $5 million.
  6. “Conclave,” $4.1 million.
  7. “Anora,” $2.5 million.
  8. “Here,” $2.4 million.
  9. “We Live in Time,” $2.2 million.
  10. “Terrifier 3,” $1.4 million.