|
 The much darker "Venom"
follow-up comes from Sony Pictures and is
separate from Disney's Marvel Cinematic
Universe, which recently delivered "Shang-Chi
and the Legend of the Ten Rings" and "Black
Widow" -- the two highest-grossing films of the
year at the domestic box office. If its first
three days in theaters are any indication,
"Venom: Let There be Carnage" looks to find
itself among that group as 2021's biggest
earners. The film is playing only in cinemas as
opposed to a hybrid release on-demand, a factor
that should help ticket sales.
"We are also pleased that patience and
theatrical exclusivity have been rewarded with
record results," Sony's chairman Tom Rothman
said in a statement to press. "With apologies to
Mr. Twain: The death of movies has been greatly
exaggerated."
The supervillain sequel, starring Tom Hardy as
the otherworldly lethal protector, blew past the
pandemic-era benchmark set last July by "Black
Widow," which opened to $80 million in theaters.
It made an additional $60 million on Disney
Plus, where it was available to purchase on the
same day as its theatrical debut.
"Young adult audiences are less deterred by
current pandemic conditions than older and
family moviegoers, which is benefitting
superhero, action and horror movies," says David
A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm
Franchise Entertainment Research. He adds: "For
these movies, playing exclusively on the big
screen is clearly an advantage."
Making inaugural ticket sales for "Venom: Let
There be Carnage" even more impressive: It had a
bigger opening weekend than its predecessor,
2018's "Venom." The first comic book adventure
with Hardy at the helm opened to $80 million,
years before the devastating global health
crisis. Despite terrible reviews, the original
became a box office juggernaut and grossed $213
million in North America and $856 million
globally. "Venom" was particularly huge in
China, where the 2018 movie collected $269
million.
[to top of second column]
|
 The sequel doesn't have a
release date yet in China, a market that will be
crucial to its success. Though it is expected to
open there, the country has denied "Black
Widow," "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten
Rings" and other major Hollywood titles.
"Venom: Let There be Carnage" wasn't the only
new movie to inject some life into the box
office. MGM's animated adventure "The Addams
Family 2" pulled in a better-than-expected $18
million from 4,207 theaters while it was
simultaneously available to rent on-demand.
Meanwhile, the Warner Bros. movie "The Many
Saints of Newark," a prequel to "The Sopranos,"
flopped in its debut, generating a paltry $5
million from 3,181 venues. Like the studio's
entire 2021 slate, the film opened concurrently
on HBO Max at no extra cost to subscribers.
Elsewhere at the domestic box office, "Shang-Chi"
collected $6 million in its fifth weekend of
release, boosting its overall total to $206
million. It's the first, and so far only,
pandemic-era movie to gross more than $200
million in the U.S. and Canada. The superhero
tentpole has generated $386 million globally,
which is far less than a Marvel movie would make
in non-COVID times but ranks as one of the best
hauls at a time when attendance hasn't come
close to reaching pre-pandemic levels.
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content
 |
