New York -
鈥淰enom: The Last Dance鈥 showed less bite than expected at the box office, collecting US$51 million in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, significantly down from the alien symbiote franchise鈥檚 previous entries.
Projections for the third 鈥淰enom鈥 film from Sony Pictures had been closer to US$65 million. More concerning, though, was the drop off from the first two 鈥淰enom鈥 films. The 2018 original debuted with US$80.2 million, while the 2021 follow-up, 鈥淰enom: Let There Be Carnage,鈥 opened with US$90 million even as theaters were still in recovery mode during the pandemic.
鈥淭he Last Dance,鈥 starring Tom Hardy as a journalist who shares his body with an alien entity also voiced by Hardy, could still turn a profit for Sony. Its production budget, not accounting for promotion and marketing, was about US$120 million 鈥 significantly less than most comic-book films.
But 鈥淭he Last Dance鈥 is also performing better overseas. Internationally, 鈥淰enom: The Last Dance鈥 collected US$124 million over the weekend, including US$46 million over five days of release in China. That鈥檚 good enough for one of the best international weekends of the year for a Hollywood release.
Still, neither reviews (36% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) nor audience scores (a franchise-low 鈥淏-鈥 CinemaScore) have been good for the film scripted by Kelly Marcel and Hardy, and directed by Marcel.
The low weekend for 鈥淰enom: The Last Dance鈥 also likely insures that superhero films will see their lowest-grossing year in a dozen years, not counting the pandemic year of 2020, according to David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.
Following on the heels of the 鈥淛oker: Folie 脿 Deux鈥 flop, Gross estimates that 2024 superhero films will gross about US$2.25 billion worldwide. The only upcoming entry is Marvel鈥檚 鈥淜raven the Hunter,鈥 due out Dec. 13. Even with the US$1.3 billion of 鈥Deadpool & Wolverine,鈥 the genre hasn鈥檛, overall, been dominating the way it once did. In 2018, for example, superhero films accounted for more than US$7 billion in global ticket sales.
Last week鈥檚 top film, the Paramount Pictures horror sequel 鈥淪mile 2,鈥 dropped to second place with US$9.4 million. That brings its two-week total to US$83.7 million worldwide.
The weekend鈥檚 biggest success story might have been 鈥淐onclave,鈥 the papal thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and directed by Edward Berger (鈥淎ll Quiet on the Western Front鈥). The Focus Features release, a major Oscar contender, launched with US$6.5 million in 1,753 theaters.
That put 鈥淐onclave鈥 into third place, making it the rare adult-oriented drama to make a mark theatrically. Some 77% of ticket buyers were over the age of 35, Focus said. With a strong opening and stellar reviews, 鈥淐onclave鈥 could continue to gather momentum both with moviegoers and Oscar voters.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
-
"Venom: The Last Dance,鈥 US$51 million.
-
鈥淪mile 2," US$9.4 million.
-
鈥淐onclave,鈥 US$6.5 million.
-
鈥淭he Wild Robot,鈥 US$6.5 million.
-
鈥淲e Live in Time,鈥 US$4.8 million.
-
鈥淭errifier 3,鈥 US$4.3 million.
-
鈥淏eetlejuice Beetlejuice,鈥 US$3.2 million.
-
鈥淎nora,鈥 US$867,142.
-
鈥淧iece by Piece,鈥 US$720,000.
-
鈥淭ransformers One,鈥 US$720,000.