411 Box Office Report: Venom: Let There Be Carnage Scores Pandemic Record $90.1 Million Start

The symbiotes laid waste to the box office this weekend as Venom: Let There Be Carnage set a pandemic-era record in its opening weekend. The Venom sequel grossed $90.1 million in its first weekend, breaking the pandemic record of $80.4 million that was set by Black Widow in March. Let There Be Carnage scored the best opening weekend since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opened with $177.4 million in the weekend of December 20th, 2019.

Everything’s coming up Sony here, with Let Their Be Carnage vastly outperforming the $60 million to $70 million that analysts were predicting coming into the weekend. Impressively, the sequel outperformed its predecessor; Let There Be Carnage beat the $80.3 million start that Venom had in October of 2018. It’s clear that despite critics’ ambivalence for this franchise (this one stands at a 59% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes), fans are all in and the B+ CinemaScore for Let There Be Carnage (same as the original film) attests to that.

There will be a lot of analysis about this film’s performance, and the fact that it opened solely in theaters is certainly one reason it did well. But it’s also the fact that Venom is a beloved character and fans were excited to see him match up against his rival in Carnage. It’s also worth noting that the film did not do a massive level of pre-order business; this PostTrak notes that only 19% of moviegoers bought their ticket a week or more ago, and fully 66% were walk-up ticket buyers. That indicates that the word of mouth had a direct impact, and this was not just hype over a big blockbuster carrying weight with the fanboys.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is obviously positioned to be a big hit at this point domestically, and while we only have results from Russia so far for its overseas numbers those are strong at $13.8 million for a $103.9 million worldwide take. Venom is going to have some serious competition over the next few weeks, but there’s no reason to believe this won’t hit at least $240 million and probably higher in the US. Against a $110 million production budget plus marketing, this is a huge hit.

Meanwhile, United Artists got a good result out of Addams Family 2 in its first weekend with a $18 million start, right on par with the mid- to high-teens prediction we had for it. The film fell short of the first animated entry’s $30.3 million start from October of 2019, but that was never the benchmark for success even if you don’t consider the pandemic aspect. This sequel opened day-and-date with online retailers, and as usual we don’t know how much business it did there.

The first animated Addams Family was a breakout hit for UA, earning $203.7 million worldwide against a budget of just $24 million (plus marketing, of course). That made a sequel a no-brainer, and while the opening seems mild it ranks as the best animated film opening of the pandemic. That’s despite a low critic regard (27% on RT) and a mild B CinemaScore, a touch below the B+ that the first film scored. There’s no word on the movie’s budget, but it is likely somewhere around the first film’s budget. Addams Family legged out to a 3.23 multiple and the sequel has a good chance to do the same, which would put at around $55 million to $60 million domestically.

The success of Let There Be Carnage took a bite out of the holdovers, with Shang-Chi slipping 54% in its fifth weekend to $6 million. The MCU film is the top-grossing film of the pandemic domestically at $206.1 million, with $386.9 million worldwide. It should be able to top $225 million and could get a bit higher than that. It’s another hit for Marvel against a $150 million production budget.

Warner Bros.’ The Many Saints of Newark opened below expectations, starting off with $5 million. Most expected the Sopranos prequel to be a bit closer to $10 million, but it’s important to remember that older audiences — who this film definitely targeted — are more hesitant to venture out to theaters right now. Many Saints is a decently-liked film among critics at 74% on RT, but audiences were much less enthusiastic at a lousy C+ CinemaScore. WarnerMedia released this on HBO Max day-and-date like all their 2021 films, and considering it’s a prequel to a TV show it seems quite possible that it did good business there.

There was a lot going against this film in theaters beyond the pandemic and the HBO Max release, to be honest. It addition to the male demo coming out in droves for Venom, it’s easy to forget that The Sopranos came to an end over 14 years ago. And while time has brought new fans to the franchise, the series infamously ended on a bad note that still lingers to this day. The prequel aspect also means that it lacked the original show’s stars, and while Many Saints did have some well-known talent like Vera Farmiga and Ray Liotta, they aren’t stars who open films on the power of their name. Many Saints added $2.3 million in a smattering of markets overseas for a $7.3 million worldwide start, and domestically it should close out around $12 million to $15 million.

Meanwhile, Universal’s Dear Evan Hansen followed up its ugly start with an even uglier second weekend. The musical adaptation fell a rough 67% in its second weekend to $2.5 million, bringing its total domestic take to $11.8 million. There’s no good news for this film, which is now looking like it won’t even pass $20 million in the US. With a $27 million production cost plus a heavy marketing campaign, this is an unequivocal flop.

Free Guy slipped 45% in its eighth weekend, bringing in $2.3 million. The video game-inspired action-comedy is now up to $117.6 million domestically and a fantastic $320.7 million worldwide, big money against a $100 million budget. It should be able to end its run north of $125 million.

Candyman was down 52% in its sixth weekend with $1.2 million. The Nia DaCosta-directed horror sequel film has now tallied $58.9 million domestically and $75.1 million worldwide against a $25 million budget, making it a very solid hit for Universal. The film is aiming for around $62 million to $65 million as its endgame.

Jungle Cruise finally fell off in its tenth weekend, bringing in $680,000 which is a 61% drop. The adventure film has now grossed $116.1 million domestically and $209.8 million worldwide, plus the amount its made on Disney+ Premier Access, making it profitable even against its $200 million budget once all profit avenues are tallied. It should finish off at around $120 million or so domestically.

Indian drama Chal Mera Putt 3 got off to a very good start with $644,000 in just 90 theaters. The film about the lives of illegal immigrants in the UK is doing well overseas, and while like most Indian films it will disappear from theaters quickly here it will be nicely profitable.

Lionsgate’s documentary The Jesus Music closed out the top 10 at $560,000. The film, which looks at the rise and prominence of the Christian music scene, had the fourth-best documentary opening of 2021. No word on its budget, but it should be profitable for the studio.

A couple notes on films that have opened overseas but not yet here: No Time To Die roared in its international rollout with a $119 million start, well above the $90 million that most expected. The film is tracking along the lines of Skyfall in like-for-like markets and just a bit below Spectre. And Dune is also performing well, with $100.3 million internationally in three weeks.

Next weekend will see likely see 007 take down Venom as No Time To Die jumps into theaters stateside. Daniel Craig’s final go as James Bond is expected to open to between $70 million and $80 million. It is the only new wide release coming next weekend.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Venom: Let There Be Carnage – $90.1 million ($90.1 million total)
2. The Addams Family 2 – $18 million ($18 million total)
3. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – $6 million ($206.1 million total)
4. The Many Saints of Newark – $5 million ($5 million total)
5. Dear Evan Hansen – $2.5 million ($11.8 million total)
6. Free Guy – $2.3 million ($117.6 million total)
7. Candyman – $1.2 million ($58.9 million total)
8. Jungle Cruise – $680,000 ($166.1 million total)
9. Chal Mera Putt 3 – $644,000 ($644,000 total)
10. The Jesus Music – $560,000 ($560,000 total)