‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Slithers to $8.5M in Box Office Previews, Ups Global Forecast

Venom: The Last Dance slithered its way to $8.5 million in Thursday night previews at the domestic box office.

The movie is looking to score the lowest opening of the three film in the franchise, at least domestically. Globally is a different matter. Based on early returns, Last Dance is headed for a worldwide launch of $180 million, which is five percent higher than the worldwide debut of Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($171.6 million) in 2021.

The film has earned $35.8 million worldwide through Thursday, including $8.5 million from Thursday’s U.S./Canada early shows, which started at 2 p.m. at 3,452 locations.

The film opened in China on Wednesday to $9.4 million, making it the biggest opening day for a comic book film since 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. To date, it has amassed $14.7 million from China.

In North America, the first Venom opened to $80.2 million in 2018, then a record for October. It lost the crown a year later to Joker ($96.2 million). The second installment, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, debuted in October 2021 to $90 million, a boon for theater owners who were still recovering from the pandemic and a major win for Sony.

Venom: The Last Dance should have no trouble nabbing the biggest opening of October 2024 to date after Joker: Foile à Deux flamed out with a $37 million debut following the sequel’s unprecedented D CinemaScore.

In the case of Venom, it’s not uncommon for threequels to fall off in the U.S. Sony is confident, however, that fanboys will find the third outing to be the best of the bunch and help fuel better-than-expected ticket sales. The pic’s reported budget is $120 million before marketing.

The series has never been a hit with critics, with the latest installment landing on Rotten Tomatoes with a 37 percent critics score.

Directed by Kelly Marcel, Venom 3 stars Tom Hardy, who returns in the titular role. Hardy also co-wrote the script with Marcel, his longtime creative partner, who makes her directorial debut with the feature.

The other new nationwide film this weekend is Edward Berger’s acclaimed Oscar contender Conclave, a Vatican-set thriller about the election of a new pope. Produced and financed by FilmNation and Indian Paintbrush, the movie’s all-star cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini.

Focus Features, which is releasing the Oscar contender domestically, is reporting $500,000 in previews, in line with expectations for an adult-skewing pic.