411 Box Office Report: Venom: The Last Dance Threepeats At #1, Heretic Starts Decently

It was a third week at the top for Venom: The Last Dance at the box office this weekend. The third film in the Venom trilogy continued to show legs at the box office as it was down just 37% in its third frame for $16.2 million. That marks the second weekend in a row that the film is holding better than its predecessors; for perspective, Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage both dropped 48% in their third weekends.

Of course, the difference here is that both of the first two films started much higher. Still, The Last Dance is in good shape. While it won’t hit the previous films’ take, it is currently at $114.8 million domestically and $394.2 million worldwide against a $120 million budget. As it stands, the film is looking at a likely $140 million or so by the end of its domestic run, which Sony will be happy enough with.

It was close between #2 and #3, with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever taking the runner-up start in today’s estimate. The Judy Greer-led holiday comedy grossed $11.1 million slightly above its $8 million to $10 million prediction coming into the weekend. That’s the highest start for a Christmas-themed film since Violent Night started with $13.5 million in December of 2022.

It’s a very solid opening for comedy, a genre that has had mixed results for the last several years. It was helped by a strong critical assessment, with an 89% aggregated critical average on Rotten Tomatoes. Even better, audiences love it with a 98% RT audience rating and an A CinemaScore.

All of that should bode well for its prospects in successive weeks, not to mention the coming holiday season that it can play into. With a $10 million budget, it’s likely to be nicely profitable and should be able to hit $30 million by the end of its domestic run.

Coming in at #3 was Heretic, which was just a nose behind Best Christmas Pageant. A24’s latest horror film grossed $11 million which was, much like Pageant, slightly above its $8 million to $10 million expectation. It’s a bit of a rebound for A24 horror after MaXXine slightly disappointed in July with a $6.7 million start.

Heretic was buoyed by a fair amount of buzz coming into the weekend. The Hugh Grant-led film opened at TIFF in September and has accrued a stellar 98% RT aggregate score with critics, though audiences are somewhat less keen at a 78% RT audience rating and a C CinemaScore. Still, it held on well through the weekend and is well positioned for a movie that cost less than $10 million before marketing.

As it stands, Heretic has a worldwide total of $13.6 million with a limited overseas rollout thus far and should be able to finish out at $25 million to $30 million. Anything within that range will be a sizable hit comparative to its budget.

The Wild Robot refuses to say die, slipping a mere 11% in its seventh weekend with $6.6 million. That puts the animated hit at $130.9 million domestically and $292.5 million worldwide, huge numbers against its $75 million budget. It’s continuing to defy expectations and should be able to reach close to $150 million by the end of its domestic run.

Smile 2 had a good hold again in its fourth weekend, down 26% to $5 million. The horror sequel is well behind the original but is very profitable regardless with $60.5 million stateside and $123.6 million worldwide against a budget of just $28 million (plus P&A of course). It should be able to get itself to $70 million or more, a perfectly good final US mark.

Conclave was down just 19% in its third weekend as it claws its way toward a likely profit margin when overseas numbers and digital come in. The religious thriller tallied $4.1 million and is now at $21.5 million domestically and $21.6 million worldwide. The budget was $20 million and it should reach a stateside total of around $28 million to $30 million.

Anora shot its way back into the top 10 as it expanded into a semi-wide release of 1,104 theaters. The critically-lauded Sean Baker-directed film rose 36% in its fourth weekend to $2.5 million. That pushes the Neon release to $7.2 million domestically and $12.2 million worldwide, strong numbers for an indie drama that cost just $6 million. This film will continue to perform at solid levels as we get further into award season and its final numbers depend on how Neon handles the platforming, but it’s in great shape.

Robert Zemeckis’ Here followed up its poor opening weekend with a hefty drop, down 49% to $2.4 million. The Tom Hanks and Robin Wright-led drama’s drop would be fine if it didn’t start at $5 million, but here we are. The film is probably destined for a quick drop off the top 10; as it stands it has $9.5 million domestically and $9.7 million worldwide against a $50 million budget. Ouch.

We Live in Time was down 36% in its fourth weekend, adding $2.2 million to its coffers. The romantic drama now has $21.8 million stateside and $24.5 million worldwide. No word on its budget, but it should end with around $27 million in the US.

Terrifier 3 slipped 54% in the fifth weekend of its record-breaking run to gross $1.5 million. The bloody slasher has $53.3 million domestically and $68.1 million worldwide, a massive profit against a $2 million budget. The film is looking at around $55 million to $57 domestically.

We’ll get a new #1 next weekend as the Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans-led action comedy Red One eyes a $30 million opening weekend. (The film started with $27 million overseas this frame).

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Venom: The Last Dance – $26.1 million ($114.8 million total, $394.2 million WW)
2. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – $11.1 million ($11.1 million total, $11.1 million WW)
3. Heretic – $11 million ($11 million total, $13.6 million WW)
4. The Wild Robot – $6.7 million ($130.9 million total, $292.5 million WW)
5. Smile 2 – $5 million ($60.5 million total, $123.6 million WW)
6. Conclave – $4.1 million ($21.5 million total, $21.6 million WW)
7. Anora – $2.5 million ($7.2 million total, $12.2 million WW)
8. Here – $2.4 million ($9.5 million total, $9.7 million WW)
9. We Live In Time – $2.2 million ($21.8 million total, $24.5 million WW)
10. Terrifier 3 – $1.5 million ($53.3 million total, $68.1 million WW)