It was largely expected that the classic Spider-Man villain's solo outing would top the box office. And truthfully, Venom lived up to its' hype, pulling in a huge $80 million in its debut (strong $18,831 per-venue average). That handily beats Gravity ($55.7 million) for the biggest opening ever for the month of October. For superhero solo films in general, Venom ended up ahead of several of its brethren, including Ant-Man, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Wolverine. Venom also came close to the debut of 2016's Doctor Strange ($85 million). Over the years, a Venom movie was one of those ideas I heard tossed around a lot by fans and commentators on movie and entertainment websites. And, also truthfully, it was a movie many superhero fans wanted to see. Perhaps it was the decision to go the PG-13 route that helped Venom break out to record heights. An R rating might would have limited some of its potential, and would have made it difficult for the character to face off against the current iteration of Spider-Man (though Deadpool and Logan delivered huge numbers with R ratings).Overseas, Venom did fantastic business, earning $125 million in its international launch, for a $205 million worldwide start (another October record). Overall word-of-mouth seems decent, as audiences gave the film a "B+" CinemaScore, though there are fans who are disappointed the film didn't get an R rating. If Venom plays out like recent superhero flicks, I would expect a domestic finish between $200 and $250 million and a worldwide gross above $500 million. On a budget of around $100 million, that would undoubtedly qualify as a success. Distributor Sony (who expected around $60 million, analysts were projecting around $65 million) is hoping this will start a series of movies for characters in the Spider-Man universe, and this is the kind of start they needed.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. served up excellent counter-programming with its remake of A Star is Born. Bringing in females, date night crowds, and musical fans, the possible awards season contender managed a huge $41.3 million in its opening (strong $11,191 per-venue average). Analysts were thinking of a $30 million debut, with plenty of room for upside if buzz was any indicator. But, mature audiences were definitely very interested here, and Lady Gaga's fans came out in force as well. The soundtrack is #1 on iTunes, and the original song "Shallow" is also #1 on iTunes for singles. The film also received a strong "A" CinemaScore and with the awards buzz, this all points to a long life at the box office. On a budget of just $40 million, this is another strong win for Warner Bros. in what has been a very good last three months for them.Speaking of Warner Bros., they took third place this weekend too with their animated flick Smallfoot. The yeti tale had a very good hold in its second weekend, off 35% to $14.9 million, for a 10-day total of $42.8 million. It continues to outpace Storks and LEGO Ninjago through the same point. In the meantime, it held better than its fellow sophomore flick Night School. Kevin Hart's latest was down 55% to $12.3 million, for a decent $46.8 million pick-up in the same amount of time. While not a great hold by all means, the film is still playing respectably for just a $29 million production.
After a sharp drop last week, The House with a Clock in its Walls stabilized somewhat. The family horror was off 42% to $7.3 million, for a decent $55.1 million pick-up in 17 days. Look for the Jack Black flick to take a hit next weekend in the face of Goosebumps 2, and then stabilize the following two weekends heading into Halloween. Meanwhile, taking a hit from A Star is Born, A Simple Favor fell 48% to $3.4 million, for a solid $49 million pick-up in 24 days. The book adaptation is looking at a $60 million finish.
The Nun continued to play, though it fell another 52% to $2.6 million. Warner Bros. latest horror hit is at a very good $113.4 million in one month of release, along with nearly $350 million worldwide. Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, H*** Fest fell an unsurprising 60% to $2.1 million. The CBS Films production has earned a weak $8.9 million in 10 days with little left in the tank. Finally losing steam (probably thanks to A Star is Born), Crazy Rich Asians fell 50% in its eighth weekend to $2.1 million. The book adaptation stands at a huge $169.1 million in 56 days as it prepares to bow out of the list.
Rounding out the Top 10 was the remake of Predator, which continued to fade fast. The Shane Black flick plummeted 77% to $900,000. With $50 million in 24 days (and weak overseas numbers), it seems very likely that this franchise is due to be buried for good.
And that's about it. Next weekend, the box office race gets more crowded as another potential Oscar contender opens. Neil Armstrong biopic First Man leads the charge, with family sequel Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween and thriller Bad Times at the El Royale also hoping to make waves. Look for it to be another strong weekend, with predictions coming on Wednesday. :)
