Box office estimations haveVenom: The Last Dancecoming well below the opening weekend of the previous two films. After the box office disaster that wasJoker: Folie à Deux, theaters were likely hoping to see a major rebound at the box office with theVenomsequel. However, just likeJoker 2, it appears having a successful predecessor does not translate to a strong opening weekend for a new entry, asThe Last Dancewill seemingly fail to match the heights of its predecessors.
Varietyestimates thatVenom: The Last Dancewill land a $65 million opening weekend. While that would make it the eighth highest-grossing opening weekend of 2024, it is well belowVenom’s $80 million opening and the $90 millionLet There Be Carnageearned in 2021.If estimations hold,The Last Dance’s opening weekend will be $15 million belowVenomand $25 million belowVenom: Let There Be Carnage.Even with the $85 million international estimate, and a $150 million worldwide opening weekend, it is still below the first film’s $205 million. Of course,Venom: Let There Be Carnagehad a slower rollout in international markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
IfThe Last Dancecomes in below box office estimations, it will continue a trend of sequels to popular superhero movies underperforming.Shazam! Fury of the Gods,The Marvels,Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,Joker: Folie à Deux,and now potentiallyVenom: The Last Dancepaint a portrait of a general lack of interest in general audiences in these superhero sequels. Meanwhile,The Last Dancecertainly has plenty of opportunities to bounce back. It is the last major film being released in theaters for three weeks, asstudios are looking to avoid releasing films during the 2024 presidential election.
Venom: The Last Dance Lacks a Strong Hook for Audiences
One factor likely working againstVenom: The Last Dance’s favor is the lack of a big marketing hook. 2018’sVenomwas the solo film of a highly popular Marvel character and was released during the superhero movie’s peak popularity. Audiences likely showed up to see if Venom would be connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.Venom: Let There Be Carnagefeatured Carnage, one of Marvel’s most famous villains, to draw in viewers and to be a big blockbuster title after the COVID-19 pandemic.Venom: Let There Be Carnagebriefly held the record for the biggest opening weekend for a movie following the COVID-19 theater shutdowns, losing it two months later to Sony’s ownSpider-Man: No Way Home, which featured Venom in a post-credit scene.
Tom Hardy’s Venom Takes on the Hot Ones Challenge in Hilarious The Last Dance Promo
“It’s like licking Satan’s nut sack!”
Despite marketingVenom: The Last Danceas the final adventure, it seems insufficient for some people.Knull is a new villain in Marvel Comicsand doesn’t have the draw that Carnage did. General audiences are also likely wise to the idea that theseVenommovies are not connected to the MCU Spider-Man movies. Despite rumors, Venom will not likely share the screen with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker or any other version of the webhead. In between the release ofVenom: Let There Be CarnageandVenom: The Last Dance, Sony Pictures has also releasedMorbiusandMadame Web, which certainly have hurt their Spider-Man related brand.Early word of mouth forVenom: The Last Danceamong fans and critics has been good, so that might help it rebound in the following weeks, but it continues to paint a portrait that superhero movies are no longer the guaranteed box office hit they were even just three years ago.
