The Sony sequel debuted considerably ahead of the first ‘Venom,’ helping to spark the greatest weekend in North America since the COVID-19 crisis occurred.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage debuted to $90.1 million in the US box office, the largest three-day debut of the pandemic period, propelling the biggest weekend overall since COVID-19 shuttered cinemas in March 2020.
Domestic box office receipts fell less than 15% behind the same weekend in 2019 for the first time since the crisis began. Two years ago, the superhero phenomenon Joker opened to $96.2 million on the same weekend. Behind that picture, Venom 2 has the second-best October debut of all time, showing that moviegoing has returned to some sort of normalcy during the weekend.
Venom 2, produced by Sony in collaboration with Marvel Studios, surpassed estimates by $25 million to $30 million, making it the first sequel in the epidemic era to gross more than the first picture in a series (Venom grossed $80.3 million in 2018).
Rather than being published concurrently on premium VOD or a streaming service, the sequel was launched only in theatres.
The news for Hollywood and cinemas becomes much brighter. Cinemark, one of the three largest movie theatre chains in the country, had its best October opening weekend ever, as well as its best October weekend overall. According to the chain, this might be the second-busiest October weekend in the history of the business.
In a statement, Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi stated, “This is just another solid evidence that consumers want and need to come out of their homes for an immersive entertainment experience.”
