Sony Pictures enjoyed a better-than-expected opening for Venom 2 this weekend with an estimated $90.1 million, which is even bigger than the first film’s opening weekend gross of $80.26 million in 2018.
Fully titled Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the sequel started its run in 4,225 locations with $37.3 million on Friday, $31.6 million on Saturday, and a projected $21.2 million on Sunday. $8.6 million of the film’s domestic total came from 402 IMAX screens.
The Venom 2 opening weekend gross in North America marks the best since the beginning of the pandemic, beating the debuts of Black Widow ($80.4 million), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($75.4 million), F9 ($70 million) and A Quiet Place Part II ($47.5 million).
“We are so grateful to Tom, Andy, Kelly and all of the many gifted contributors who made such a unique and fun film,” said Tom Rothman, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group. “We are also pleased that patience and theatrical exclusivity have been rewarded with record results. With apologies to Mr. Twain: The death of movies has been greatly exaggerated.”
Venom 2 also began its international rollout in Russia this weekend grossing $13.8 million, which is Sony Pictures’ highest opening ever in Russia. The auspicious debut also smashed the record as the best opener of the pandemic era and is the fourth biggest of any film in the market.
The movie expands to Latin America next week before its wide international release the following frame.
Tom Hardy returns to the big screen as the lethal protector Venom. Directed by Andy Serkis, the PG-13 film also stars Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris and Woody Harrelson, in the role of the villain Cletus Kasady/Carnage.
As far as the rest of the top five in North America, The Addams Family 2 (United Artists Releasing) debuted with $18 million from 4,207 theaters in second place. In third place, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Marvel Studios) added $6 million and has made $206.1 million domestically and $180.8 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $386.9 million.
Opening in fourth place was The Many Saints of Newark (Warner Bros. Pictures), which collected $5 million from 3,181 theaters. The Sopranos prequel is also available to watch on HBO Max. And rounding out the top five was Dear Evan Hansen (Universal Pictures), which added $2.4 million and has made $11.7 million after two weeks.
At the international box office, 25th James Bond movie No Time to Die (EON/MGM/UA/Universal) opened with an impressive $121.3 million from 54 markets, with $6.8 million coming from 284 IMAX screens in 50 markets. The film opens in North America on October 8.
The top international territory was UK & Ireland, where No Time to Die reached $25.6 million after only three days. The other top markets included Germany ($15.1 million), Japan ($5.5 million), Denmark ($5.4 million), Korea ($4.6 million), Sweden ($4.3 million), The Netherlands ($4.1 million), and Switzerland ($3.4 million).
No Time to Die will open in an additional 15 international markets, including France (Oct. 6), Russia (Oct. 7), China (Oct. 29) and Australia (Nov. 11).
With an international running total of $100.3 million, Dune (Warner Bros. Pictures) added another $13.7 million this weekend on 6,501 screens in 32 markets. The top international markets so far include France ($18.6 million), Russia ($18.1 million), Germany ($13.4 million), Spain ($6.9 million) and Italy ($6.7 million).
At IMAX theaters, Dune took in an additional $500,000 this weekend to bring the IMAX total to date $10 million. The film opens in North American theaters on October 22 and will also be available to stream on HBO Max that day.