‘Venom’ Sequel Has Top Opening Weekend of the Pandemic

(Bloomberg) -- “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” a sequel to a 2018 superhero film from Marvel and Sony Pictures, generated the highest opening weekend box office of the pandemic in an encouraging sign for cinemas. The new James Bond film also performed well internationally.

• “Venom,” which was released exclusively in theaters, collected $90 million in the U.S. and Canada, researcher Comscore Inc. said Monday. Boxoffice Pro was projecting $71 million. “With apologies to Mr. Twain: the death of movies has been greatly exaggerated,” Sony Pictures Chairman Tom Rothman said in a statement.
• “The Addams Family 2,” from Bron Studios and United Artists Releasing, debuted in second place with $17.3 million, compared with a forecast of $16.1 million. The weekend’s other new film, “The Sopranos” prequel “The Many Saints of Newark,” opened with revenue of $4.65 million for AT&T Inc.’s Warner Bros.

Key Insights

• The prospects for theaters look to be on the upswing after a long period of closings and reduced sales because of the Covid-19 pandemic and a thin schedule of exciting releases.
• The newest James Bond film, “No Time to Die,” took in $121.3 million internationally over the past week. It opens Oct. 8 in the U.S. and is followed soon after by the big budget Warner Bros. picture “Dune.”
• Walt Disney Co., the owner of Marvel, has said it will give all of its remaining 2021 pictures an exclusive theatrical run.

Read more: James Bond becomes theaters’ latest hope

• That wasn’t the case with “The Many Saints of Newark,” about the early life of mafioso Tony Soprano, the main character in the HBO series “The Sopranos” that ended in 2007. The film also debuted online on HBO Max the same day, potentially cutting ticket sales. Boxoffice Pro had forecast $9 million in revenue. Rotten Tomatoes said 74% of critics were recommending the picture.
• “Venom” stars British actor Tom Hardy reprising his role as the titular superhero and his alter ego Eddie Brock. About 59% of critics were recommending the movie, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
• “The Addams Family 2” got the lowest rating of the three new pictures at 24%. The animated film features the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron and Chloe Grace Moretz.

Get More

• See the schedule for upcoming releases.
• See Boxoffice Pro’s long-range forecast.

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