“Venom: The Last Dance” is set to boost the October box office this weekend, projected to earn $65 million domestically and $100 million internationally, though this could mark the lowest opening for Sony’s popular antihero franchise. The original “Venom” debuted with $80.2 million in 2018, a record for October, which was surpassed the following year by “Joker” with $96.2 million. The sequel, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” opened in October 2021 to $90 million, providing a significant lift to theaters recovering from the pandemic and being a major success for Sony.
Despite threequels often experiencing box office declines, Sony is optimistic that fans will embrace this installment as the best yet, leading to higher-than-expected ticket sales. Reviews for “Venom 3” will be released on Wednesday, with a reported budget of $120 million not including marketing expenses.
On its first day in several foreign markets, “Venom 3” earned an impressive $9.3 million in China, marking the largest opening day for a comic book film since “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” This success has led Sony to increase its foreign opening forecast from $85 million to $100 million.
Directed by Kelly Marcel, the film stars Tom Hardy, who reprises his role as the title character and co-wrote the screenplay with Marcel, who is making her directorial debut.
Additionally, another new film debuting this weekend is “Conclave,” directed by Edward Berger. This Vatican-based thriller focuses on the election of a new pope and boasts an all-star cast, including Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini. Produced by FilmNation and Indian Paintbrush, “Conclave” will be released in 1,742 theaters by Focus Features, which secured domestic rights for a distribution fee. The specialty film, with a production budget of nearly $20 million, is expected to earn between $4 million and $6 million in its opening weekend and aims to attract audiences throughout the awards season, holding a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.