‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Falls Short, but Look at ‘Conclave’ and ‘Anora’ Soar

“Venom: The Last Dance” (Sony), the final film in the Marvel trilogy starring Tom Hardy, will gross around $175 million worldwide through this weekend. At an estimated $51 million domestic, it provided most of the overall the U.S./Canada box office from this weekend, despite being a disappointment against its initial tracking.

The other significant contributors were specialized titles timed for awards season, led by the debut of “Conclave” (Focus), an excellent initial expansion of “Anora” (Neon), and a further widening of “We Live in Time” (A24). The three films combined provided $14 million (with “Anora” only in 34 theaters).

After the shock of “Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.), now headed for a domestic total under $60 million (it’s #12 this weekend with $600,000 in its fourth weekend ahead of Tuesday’s PVOD release), the hope was “Venom” would recharge theaters.

The first two entries in the franchise opened to $80 million (2018) and $90 million (2021). Industry consensus, backed by tracking, expected some dropoff with an opening around $70 million.

The $51 million result (rival distributors peg it lower; the Sony estimate reflects a 28 percent Sunday drop) falls far short of past results and current expectations. If it opened to $60 million, it would be fair to lay the blame on the World Series games Friday and Saturday night. But a $20 million shortfall is more than you can just blame on sports.

‘Venom: The Last Dance‘Courtesy of Sony Pictures

Even so, Sony should be fine thanks to the film’s strong foreign results. With a $120 million budget pre-marketing and the chance to ultimately make $400 million in theatrical before it hits other platforms, “Venom” should be profitable.

But that’s cold comfort for domestic theaters in a year that will fall at least 10 percent behind last year’s mediocre totals. They need better results as well as more positive signals, particularly when it involves Marvel.

Edward Berger’s Vatican thriller “Conclave” opened in 1,753 theaters, a bold move by Focus for a film that previously would have been an automatic platform opener. At #3 (currently tied with Universal’s “The Wild Robot”), it surpassed its $5 million-$6 million high-end estimate. With adult ticket buying attendance still lagging, this initial performance is a real boost for specialized hopes. Upcoming weeks will determine how much.

“Anora,” after its years-best platform debut, is even more impressive with its over $25,000-per-theater take in 34 theaters, good for #8 and $867,000. Like “Conclave,” it has the full package of festival buzz, strong reviews, and general public interest that elevates awards contenders. “Anora” will add more theaters this week, with a wider release on November 8.

“We Live in Time,” a romance with Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, tripled its theater count to 2,984 and brought in $4.8 million, good for fifth place. That makes three specialized titles that could hit $20 million or more, something that has been trickier to achieve post-Covid.

“Smile 2” (Paramount) dropped 59 percent in its second week for #2. By comparison, the initial “Smile,” which had about the same opening gross of $22.6 million, wound up sustaining as a word-of-mouth sleeper and had a nearly five-time multiple, dropping only 18 percent its second weekend.

“Terrifier 3” (Cineverse/Iconic) fell to #6, adding a little under $5 million for nearly $46 million total. Less than $10 million will separate its total domestic gross from that of “Joker 2,” which cost almost $200 million more. “The Substance” (MUBI) fell just short of the top 10 with $605,000, now at $14.5 million.

‘Memoir of a Snail’IFC Films

“Memoir of a Snail” (IFC), an Australian claymation film, opened in five New York/Los Angeles theaters for a decent $69,000 total. Mati Diop’s documentary “Dahomey” grossed $18,879 in two New York locations, also a good initial showing.

Around $95 million for the weekend is down 27 percent from last year’s $128 million. Year to date is getting closer to 12 percent off.

Top 10

1. Venom: The Last Dance (Sony) NEW – Cinemascore: B-; Metacritic:; Est. budget: $120 million

$51,000,000 in 4,131 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $12,346; Cumulative: $51,000,000

2. Smile 2 (Paramount) Week 2; Last weekend #1

$9,400,000 (-59%) in 3,624 (+5) theaters; PTA: $2,594; Cumulative: $40,714,000

3. (tie) Conclave (Focus) NEW – Cinemascore: B+; Metacritic: 79; Est. budget: $20 million

$6,500,000 in 1,753 theaters; PTA: $3,708; Cumulative: $6,500,000

3. (tie) The Wild Robot (Universal) Week 5; Last weekend #2; also on PVOD

$6,500,000 (-36%) in 3,427 (-402) theaters; PTA: $1,897; Cumulative: $111,360,000

5. We Live in Time (A24) Week 3; Last weekend #5

$4,848,000 (+15%) in 2,934 (+1,939) theaters; PTA: $2,964; Cumulative: $11,760,000

6. Terrifier 3 (Iconic/Cineverse) Week 3; Last weekend #3

$4,771,000 (-54%) in 2,720 (-42) theaters; PTA: $1,570; Cumulative: $45,983,000

7. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros.) Week 8; Last weekend #4; also on PVOD

$3,230,000 (-35%) in 2,874 (-277) theaters; PTA: $1,124; Cumulative: $288,744,000

8. Anora (Neon) Week 2; Last weekend #18

$867,142 (+58%) in 34 (+28) theaters; PTA: $25,504; Cumulative: $1,620,000

9. Piece by Piece (Focus) Week 3; Last weekend #7

$720,110 (-65%) in 1,298 (-575) theaters; PTA: $555; Cumulative: $8,900,000

10. Transformers One (Paramount) Week 6; Last weekend #8; also on PVOD

$720,000 (-64%) in 1,422 (-747) theaters; PTA: $506; Cumulative: $57,946,000

Other specialized/independent titles

Films (limited, expansions of limited) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first three weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are listed. Metacritic scores and initial film festivals recorded when available.

Your Monster (Vertical) NEW – Metacritic: 64; Festivals include: Sundance 2024

$515,000 in 651 theaters; PTA: $791

Memoir of a Snail (IFC) NEW – Metacritic: 81; Festivals include: Annecy Animation 2024

$69,000 in 5 theaters; PTA: $13,800

Dahomey (MUBI) NEW – Metacritic: 83; Festivals include: Berlin, Toronto, New York 2024

$18,879 in 2 theaters; PTA: $9,440

Goodrich (Ketchup) Week 2

$165,260 in 655 (-400) theaters; PTA: $655; Cumulative: $1,210,000

Exhibiting Forgiveness (Roadside Attractions) Week 2

$49,272 in 183 (-589) theaters; Cumulative: $457,776

Union (Level Ground) Week 2

$16,150 in 5 (+4) theaters; PTA: $2,307; Cumulative: $43,324

The Fall (MUBI) Reissue Week 2

$26,785 in 23 (-25) theaters; Cumulative: $228,894

My Hero Academia: You’re Next (Toho) Week 3

$66,500 in 155 (-1435) theaters; Cumulative: $4,983,000

White Bird (Lionsgate) Week 4

$140,000 in 254 (-272) theaters; Cumulative: $4,249,000

The Outrun (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4

$21,739 in 44 (-43) theaters; Cumulative: $825,237

Nurse Unseen (RBL) Week 4

$5,012 in 4 (+1) theaters; Cumulative: $49,384

Saturday Night (Sony) Week 5

$575,000 in 1,151 (-1,185) theaters; Cumulative: $8,870,000

Lee (Roadside Attractions) Week 5; also on PVOD

$46,676 in 67 (-38) theaters; Cumulative: $1,933,000

The Substance (MUBI) Week 6

$605,569 in 424 (-124) theaters; Cumulative: $14,531,000

A Different Man (A24) Week 6

$8,843 in 23 (-12) theaters; Cumulative: $642,121

Am I Racist? (SDG) Week 7

$11,900 in 36 (-52) theaters; Cumulative: $12,290,000