Venom Just Landed The Biggest Opening For One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Here’s Why
Sony’s Venom has proven to be a big hit in it’s first weekend at the box office, and not just a big hit for Sony Pictures but also one of the biggest openings for a movie in the Marvel cinematic universe.
For those that are unaware, Venom isn’t just any old comic book movie. This is actually one of the most popular Marvel characters and is considered to be one of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies. However, this movie is tied to neither Tobey Maguire nor Tom Holland as it’s an entirely different take on the character. That being said, this iteration of Venom was met with severe criticism from fans before it even hit theaters thanks to Tom Hardy not having the iconic white eyes from the comics.
Now that Venom has officially been released, reviews are in and they’re not very good. The general consensus seems to be that Tom Hardy does a great job as Eddie Brock/Venom but everything around him falls apart. That being said, fans still managed to show up in droves to see Tom Hardy go toe-to-toe with Riz Ahmed and it paid off big time for Sony Pictures as they’ve now made $
Venom has landed the biggest opening for one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony Pictures’ film starring Tom Hardy opened to a massive $80 million domestically and $205.2 million worldwide this weekend.
That puts Venom’s domestic opening ahead of all the other films from other studios carrying the Marvel logo. The previous best MCU opening in October was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 at $146 million, while Ant-Man’s top domestic was $57 million.
The film also landed right around where it was expected to, which is a relief for Sony after critics panned the film. Venom got a 32% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but that didn’t stop fans from rushing to theaters this weekend to see Hardy in action as the alien symbiote Eddie Brock.
Venom is directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and also stars Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed.
Sony Pictures’ Venom just had the biggest opening weekend for one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies ever.
The Tom Hardy-starrer made $80 million domestically, which is a record for any movie based on Spider-Man characters, according to Variety. It also hit $205.2 million globally.
The success of Venom has already prompted talk of a sequel, and many are already speculating that Woody Harrelson’s character in the film will become fan favorite villain Carnage.
While those who have seen Venom have been split over the quality of the film, critics have largely panned the movie, giving it a 29% score on Rotten Tomatoes (although it scored 84% with audiences).
Venom follows Hardy as Eddie Brock, an investigative journalist who becomes host to an alien parasite that has lethal powers. The film also stars Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed.
The comic book movie genre has changed drastically over the last ten years. It all started back in 2008 when Marvel Studios released Iron Man and started the now sprawling MCU. Since then, we’ve seen superhero movies become one of the most bankable genres, with numerous studios getting in on the action. The biggest issue though is that no other universe has been able to match what Marvel has done.
The MCU has now grossed over $17 billion worldwide and is still going strong, but no other universe even comes close. Fox’s X-Men universe has grossed just under $6 billion, DC’s DCEU is nearing $5 billion, and Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man universe sits with just over $4 billion. To put it simply: nobody can beat Marvel at their own game.
That was until this weekend when Venom hit theaters across the globe. While reviews have been mixed to say the least about Ruben Fleischer’s take on the antihero, fans have flocked to theaters to see Tom Hardy bring him to life and Venom opened with a massive $80 million domestically.
Venom was the number one movie this weekend, opening to $80 million domestically and $205.2 million worldwide. That’s a pretty big deal for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Venom, starring Tom Hardy, has been met with mostly negative reviews from critics (including our own), but that hasn’t stopped fans from flocking to theaters to see the Spider-Man villain in action.
What makes Venom’s opening so impressive? Well, it’s a movie that was never a part of the MCU and it was considered a risky proposition by many people. It’s also a movie that features one of the most polarizing antiheroes in comics history.
The success of Venom is great news for Sony Pictures. The film is just one part of their plans to create their own cinematic universe based on comic book characters they have the rights to through their ownership of Spider-Man.
Sony Pictures released Spider-Man: Homecoming last year, which was a huge hit for them and featured an appearance from Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man from the MCU. But Homecoming was produced with Marvel Studios, who are owned by Disney, as well as with Sony Pictures’ involvement, which helped make it an easier sell for
Hollywood’s biggest movie of the week may just be one that no one in the industry really wanted — Venom.
Sony Pictures’ first film based on its Spider-Man supporting characters is a $100 million bet that there’s an audience for a superhero movie without a superhero. The risk paid off; the film earned $80 million at the box office during its opening weekend, making it the biggest October opening ever. It’s also, unsurprisingly, a hit overseas.
The biggest reason for Venom’s success might be its star, Tom Hardy, who has been one of Hollywood’s fastest rising actors since his breakthrough performance as Bane in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. But there are two other key ingredients to Venom’s success: One is that it delivers exactly what audiences want (and expect) from a comic book movie; the other is that it doesn’t deliver quite what they want or expect from a Spider-Man movie at all.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been Hollywood’s go-to formula for success over the past decade, but Spider-Man has never been part of it — not yet, anyway. Sony holds the rights to the character and all associated characters and stories, and has released five films about Spidey and his supporting characters over the past
The movie is directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), and stars Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road) as Eddie Brock, the reporter who was exposed to an alien symbiote that gave him superpowers. The film also stars Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea), Riz Ahmed (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), and Jenny Slate (Obvious Child).
