As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of experience under my belt, I can confidently say that this weekend’s box office was more of a snooze-fest than the latest open-world RPG I’ve been playing. The lackluster performance of “Venom: The Last Dance” is a stark reminder that even the mighty can falter, much like when my character gets ambushed by a group of bandits in the wilderness.
This past weekend, Hollywood didn’t unleash its major blockbusters. With Halloween falling on a Thursday, there wasn’t much potential for a fresh horror flick to capitalize on the holiday. Instead, Robert Zemeckis’ Here was the only new movie released widely, as many studios seemed to anticipate that Kelly Marcel’s Venom: The Last Dance would rule the box office.
With the final tally in, events unfolded more or less as anticipated. Venom: The Last Dance has another top spot to bolster its box office history, while Here didn’t offer much competition. For a complete Top 10 rundown, see below and join me for discussion later on.
Venom: The Last Dance Is Still Tracking Behind Its Predecessors But Has Crossed $300 Million Worldwide
In my recent article for the box office, I pointed out an unexpected turn in the performance of “Venom: The Last Dance”. Contrary to predictions, this Tom Hardy-led comic book film has not mirrored the business of its previous installments. Instead, on the domestic scene, it’s been performing quite poorly compared to its predecessors.
Following Andy Serkis’ film “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” earning an impressive $90 million in its first three days at U.S. and Canadian cinemas, the sequel unfortunately managed to make just $51 million during its premiere, with things showing no signs of improvement. On a positive note, “The Last Dance” saw a decrease of only 49% from its weekend-to-weekend earnings (a better performance compared to the 65% drop seen by this year’s release). However, it has only amassed $90 million so far. By the tenth day since their releases, both “Venom” and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” directed by Ruben Fleischer, had grossed over $140 million in North America.
Initially, it was predicted that Venom: The Last Dance would be among the top-earning movies of 2024. However, at this point, it ranks 20th on the list of highest-grossing films for the year. To make the Top 10 by the end of 2024, it needs to generate significant revenue in a short time span because a wave of blockbusters is approaching towards the end of November.
The reason Venom: The Last Dance isn’t appearing as a major letdown is its strong performance in international box offices. Despite falling short domestically during its premiere weekend, the movie managed to compensate for lost revenue with ticket sales from foreign territories. By last Sunday, the film’s global earnings had reached $175 million, and according to The Numbers, it has now accumulated a total of $317 million worldwide.
Interestingly, the distribution of ticket sales for the latest release seems to resemble more closely that of the original Venom movie compared to its sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage. The first film in the series, released in October 2018, grossed over $200 million domestically but an impressive $640 million internationally (accounting for a 24.9% domestic share). However, in 2021, the theatrical industry was recovering from the pandemic, and the first sequel saw less success overseas with approximately 42.6% of its earnings coming from the U.S. and Canada.
To date, only about 28.4% of the box office earnings for “Venom: The Last Dance” have been generated by the two northernmost nations in North America.
Here Puts Up Mild Numbers In Its Opening Weekend
In my TopMob review of “Here”, I pointed out that director Robert Zemeckis hasn’t held back on his filmmaking aspirations – a fact evident in this new project, which teams him up once more with “Forrest Gump” scribe Eric Roth and stars the legendary duo of Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. This movie doesn’t just offer a non-linear narrative, but it’s told from a fixed perspective; the camera remains stationary, and the action simply revolves around a single point in space. Regrettably, the appeal of this unique presentation fails to carry much weight, and following its underwhelming reception at last week’s world premiere, the film has had a rather unremarkable start at the box office.
Over the weekend, the film “Here”, distributed by Sony Pictures, was screened in approximately 2,600 domestic locations. Despite its star power, distinct visual style, and nostalgia associated with the 1995 Best Picture Oscar winner, it only managed to earn $5 million, placing it fifth in the Top 10. Unfortunately, these factors were not enough to ensure its success as a new release.
Judging by certain measures, it appears that the film might not be gradually amassing viewers in the upcoming weeks. According to Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score, those who have watched the movie seem to enjoy it more than critics, but there is still a long way to go before gaining universal acclaim. Furthermore, CinemaScore surveys haven’t received fantastic feedback, as the film has been given a “B-” grade.
The movie “Here” didn’t have a low production cost, and its high budget of approximately $45 million, combined with its underwhelming box office performance in its opening weekend, suggests that it might struggle to recoup its costs during its theatrical release. This is a challenge for any major studio, as a movie that doesn’t bring in substantial revenue is generally considered a failure.
Moving forward to the upcoming weekend, the cinema will be introducing two distinct movies to its current lineup: “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” directed by Dallas Jenkins and starring Judy Greer and Pete Holmes, which is expected to get viewers in a festive mood for the holidays, contrasted with “Heretic” from Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. This film promises to give audiences an unsettling experience with its incisive critique of organized religion. Don’t forget to check back here at TopMob next Sunday to see how both movies fare in the Top 10 rankings, and get a sneak peek at what’s coming to theaters for the rest of the year through our 2024 Movie Release Calendar.
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2024-11-03 23:37