We bet you didn’t see this one coming… Sony Pictures’ Venom: Let There Be Carnage surpassed all expectations, debuting with a whopping $90.1M in the US. Internationally, the final James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig also surpassed all expectations.
The sequel to Sony Pictures’ 2018 Venom went in to the weekend with a modest $40-50M prediction from the studio. Whilst box office analysts expected the film to debut closer to the $60M mark, all predictions were blown out of the water following a sterling $11.6M performance in Thursday previews.
With Venom: Let There Be Carnage reporting a huge $37.20M Friday the estimations soon rose to a more impressive $70-80M. By comparion, Reuben Fleischer’s 2018’s film took $80.2M in its opening weekend despite a B+ CinemaScore and lukewarm reviews from critics.
With Andy Serkis taking over directing duties on Let There Be Carnage the film currently sits at a more acceptable 58% on Rotten Tomatoes and once again scores a B+ from opening weekend viewers.
Rolling to Saturday, Let There Be Carnage fell a mere -15% for $31.6M. Sunday estimates bring in a further $21.2M, taking the film to a stunning opening of $90.1M. Nearly a full $10M beyond that of its predecessor.
From here the film begins its international rollout. Landing on UK screens from October 15, 2021. You can read Neil’s review of the film here.
Here’s our quick video roundup of all the action in the US:
Elsewhere in the US, MGM and United Artists Relasing’s The Addams Family 2 debuted in second place with a healthy $18M. The animated sequel scared up a healthy pandemic-era opening, by comparison its predecessor opened to $30M back in a pre-pandemic 2019. It’s worth noting that the film was also made available simultaneously on digital in the US with a healthy $19.99 price-tag. The film begins its international rollout this week.
Falling to third place this week is Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Finally displaced from the top spot, Shang-Chi still brought in a respectable $6M (-53.7%), taking its domestic tally to $206.1M. The film is still playing on 3,455 screens across the US, bringing in an average $1,747 per screen.
Internationally, Shang-Chi found itself dominated by the release of the latest Bond movie. To date, The Simu Liu starter has racked up $180.8M in overseas territories, putting its worldwide cume at $386.9M.
Opening in fourth place this week is Warner Bros. The Many Saints of Newark. The Sopranos prequel faced tough competition from a number of larger films but still brought in a respectable $5M. As with other 2021 Warner releases, Many Saints simultaneously debuted (for free) on the WarnerMedia owned HBO Max. The film opened on 3,181 screens, scoring a $1,571 per-screen average. The film is already available to catch in many international territories and brought in a further $2.3M for a global opening of $7.3M.
Languishing in fifth place this week is the DOA Dear Evan Hansen. After a disappointing $7.5M opening the musical adaption fell a hefty -67.1% to bring in a little under $2.5M in its second weekend. Those disappointing numbers take it’s domestic total to just $11.8M with international openings beginning from next week.
The big story here in the UK and in many overseas territories is No Time To Die. The final 007 film to star Daniel Craig who hangs up his keys to the Aston Martin after 15 years in the role. After 18 months of delays No Time To Die bowed with a huge $119M almost edging out the $123M made by its predecessor, Spectre, in 2015.
Audiences here in the UK flocked to the see Craig’s swan-song to the tune of $34.8M. The the sixth biggest opening weekend of all time and the biggest three-day weekend in the franchise’s history. Saturday alone accounted for $11.4M, the UK’s highest day of box office in the history of the Bond franchise, the fourth highest Saturday of all time, and the biggest single day gross for a Universal release. Overall, No Time To Die accounted for 87% of the UK box office on Saturday, breaking Friday’s record to become the biggest single day gross of the pandemic, and the highest single day gross since Avengers: Endgame in April 2019. No Time To Die is already the biggest movie of 2021 in the UK.
Bond hits the US this week so expect fireworks when the legendary spy takes on the MCU-adjacent symbiote…
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