It’s going to be another soft weekend at the domestic box office, with the holdover hitVenom: The Last Dancelooking to three-peat at the number one spotwith another sturdy hold. The superhero film, the latest installment inSony’s Spider-Man spin-off universe, had an underwhelming debut a couple of weeks ago, but appeared to cover some lost ground in its sophomore frame.Venom: The Last Danceis eyeing around $14 million in its third weekend of release, after generating a little over $3.5 million on Friday. If these projections hold, the movie will pass the $110 million mark domestically by Sunday.
Venom: The Last Dancefinally passed the $100 million mark on Friday, but is still pacing behind its blockbuster predecessors. BothVenomandVenom: Let There Be Carnageconcluded their domestic runs with an identical $213 million. They were also rather popular in overseas markets, with Chinese audiences being especially receptive to the first film, which generated nearly $300 million there in 2018. The sequel couldn’t secure a Middle Kingdom release in 2021, butVenom: The Last Dancehas also proven to be a massive hit in China, and will pass the $400 million mark globally this weekend.
The number two spot this weekend will go to the newcomerHeretic. StarringHugh Grantin the latest of his seedy roles, the A24 horror film grossed just over $4 million on opening day, of which a little over $1.2 million came from Thursday previews. The movie isprojected to gross around $10 millionin its opening weekend. Havingopened topositive reviews—Hereticholds a “fresh” 93% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes — the movie has earned a worryingly low C+ CinemaScore from opening day audiences.
‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Is Making the Most of Zero Competition
Third place is going to another new release, the holiday-themedThe Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which could prove to be front-loaded as most faith-based films are. It’s in a tight race withHeretic, andwill ultimately end up making around $10 million across the weekend. If these projections hold, this’ll represent the second-biggest debut of the year forthe struggling distributor Lionsgate, behindThe Strangers: Chapter One. At number four is DreamWorks’ holdover hitThe Wild Robot, which, like most successful animated films, hasn’t let a digital release get in the way of box office glory. In its seventh weekend of release, the movie is eying around $5 million, which shouldtake its running domestic total to nearly $130 million.
The top five was rounded out bySmile 2, which added around $1.5 million on its fourth Friday, and will likely generate just under $5 million across the weekend. Thisshould take its running domestic total past the $60 million mark, which means that it’s still trailing the $100 million-plus final haul of its predecessor,Smile, which became a runaway hit in 2022. Stay tuned to Collider for more box office updates over the weekend.
Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed, becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
