Venom: The Last Dance Tops Box Office for Third Week Despite Sluggish Fall Season

By
Santiagoc
-
8

“Venom: The Last Dance” hasn’t claimed blockbuster status in North American theaters, but during a sluggish fall movie season, even a moderately successful superhero sequel can dominate the box office for three consecutive weeks.

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


TRUSTED PARTNER ✅ Bitcoin Casino


With the election day approaching on Tuesday, major studios chose not to release any new movies in theaters, which allowed Sony Pictures’ “Venom: The Last Dance,” the third installment in the Tom Hardy-led franchise, to maintain its lead.

Although the domestic performance of “The Last Dance” has been underwhelming—opening below expectations in late October—it has thrived internationally, earning almost triple the amount it has in North America. The “Venom” sequel has grossed $279.4 million overseas, bringing its global total to $394.2 million.

“Heretic” and “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” were close contenders for the second position. Only considering Friday through Sunday ticket sales, “Heretic” had a slight edge with an $11 million debut. However, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” factored in $2.2 million from sneak-peek screenings last weekend, which allowed it to claim a reported opening gross of $11.1 million.

The A24 film “Heretic,” directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, follows two Mormon missionaries (played by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who knock on the door of a man (played by Grant) they will regret trying to evangelize. Though “Heretic” has received critical acclaim for Grant’s darkest role yet, audiences were less enthused, giving it a “C+” CinemaScore. Despite this, with a budget under $10 million, “Heretic” is set to turn a profit easily.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” distributed by Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company, which focuses on Christian entertainment, revolves around six misbehaving siblings who take over a local church pageant. The film, an adaptation of Barbara Robinson’s 1972 children’s book and directed by Dallas Jenkins, received positive feedback from audiences, earning an “A” CinemaScore. It was also modestly budgeted at approximately $10 million.

Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot” continues to perform well in its seventh week of release. It secured fourth place with $6.6 million, raising its domestic total to $130.2 million and its worldwide gross to $292 million.

Sean Baker’s acclaimed film “Anora,” featuring Mikey Madison as a Brooklyn sex worker, expanded into wider release. The Neon film, considered a potential best-picture contender, earned $2.4 million in 1,104 theaters, bringing its four-week total to $7.2 million.

The adult-oriented drama “Conclave,” starring Ralph Fiennes, continues to perform well. The Focus Features film, in its third weekend, added 487 theaters and dipped only 19%, earning $4.1 million. Its total revenue now stands at $21.5 million. Similarly, A24’s “We Live in Time,” featuring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, stayed strong, grossing $2.2 million in its fifth weekend, reaching a total of $21.8 million.

Overall box office sales remain slow. According to Comscore, current ticket sales are about 11% behind last year. Over the past two weeks, sales have dropped approximately 50% from the pre-pandemic average, according to David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.

However, theaters can look forward to upcoming releases that are expected to boost sales. These include Amazon MGM’s Christmas comedy “Red One” (Nov. 15), Paramount Pictures’ “Gladiator II” (Nov. 22), Universal’s “Wicked” (also Nov. 22), and Disney’s “Moana 2” (Nov. 27).

“Better late than never is the rule of the day, and we can expect some positive success stories emerging from the Thanksgiving corridor, which appears to be on par with some of the largest such frames in recent years,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.

Before its U.S. release, “Red One,” starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, debuted in 75 overseas markets, collecting $26.6 million. The film has a substantial production budget of around $250 million.

Final domestic figures will be released on 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.