“Venom: The Last Dance” Stays Atop Box Office as Election Weekend Brings Quiet to Theaters
“Venom: The Last Dance” continued its reign at the box office this weekend, adding $26.1 million to its coffers, The Associated Press reports, citing studio estimates.
The Sony release starring Tom Hardy dominated a relatively subdued weekend for North American movie theaters, a lull likely due to the impending presidential election.
The weekend saw a dominance of established releases, with “Venom 3,” “The Wild Robot,” and “Smile 2” all holding strong positions. However, the Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, and Robert Zemeckis reunion film “Here” faltered, opening to a disappointing $5 million from 2,647 locations.
“Venom 3” demonstrated impressive staying power, falling only 49% in its second weekend, a remarkable figure for a superhero film, though it didn’t match the opening numbers of its predecessors. While the domestic opening fell short of the first two films’ $80 million debuts, the film has surpassed $90 million domestically and has crossed the $300 million mark globally.
Meanwhile, Universal and Illumination’s animated hit “The Wild Robot” continues to enchant audiences, even six weeks into its run and with availability on demand. The film placed second with $7.6 million, an 11% increase from last weekend. Its domestic total now stands at over $121 million, with worldwide earnings exceeding $269 million.
“Smile 2” landed in third place with $6.8 million, propelling its worldwide total to $109.7 million.
The time-hopping graphic novel adaptation “Here,” which was penned by “Forrest Gump” screenwriter Eric Roth, received a tepid reception from critics, earning a dismal 36% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite playing in almost 1,000 more locations, it fell behind Focus Features’ papal thriller “Conclave,” which earned $5.3 million.
Despite the quiet weekend, the box office overall continues to lag behind 2023 by almost 12%. However, the upcoming holiday season promises a surge in moviegoing, with anticipated releases like “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” set to light up the screens.
Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” a comedic drama about cousins on a Holocaust tour in Poland, debuted in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles, generating an impressive $240,000, or $60,000 per screen. The well-reviewed film, distributed by Searchlight Pictures, will expand nationwide on November 15, hitting over 800 theaters.
While the box office charts offer some insight, they don’t paint a complete picture. Several high-profile films playing in theaters this weekend, including Clint Eastwood’s “Juror #2,” Steve McQueen’s WWII film “Blitz,” and the Cannes darling “Emilia Pérez,” did not report full grosses. Netflix, the distributor of “Emilia Pérez,” never releases box office numbers, and Apple Original Films is following suit with “Blitz,” which is in theaters before hitting Apple TV+ on November 22.
“Juror No. 2,” a Warner Bros. release, earned $5 million from international showings but withheld domestic figures. The studio did, however, highlight the film’s positive reviews, which praise director Eastwood and star Nicholas Hoult.
The withholding of box office data isn’t unusual, with studios occasionally choosing to not disclose numbers, as Disney did earlier this year with the Daisy Ridley movie “Young Woman and the Sea.” This practice was particularly prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
