It was never in doubt that Venom: The Final Round would win this weekend in U.S. cinemas. With no significant competition, Sony likely could have clinched this spot even with minimal marketing, especially given the franchise’s sizeable fan base despite the mixed quality of previous installments. The first Venom film initially opened with around $80 million, and the 2021 sequel topped that by about $10 million, so expectations for solid numbers on this trilogy capper were not unreasonable.
In the end, however, the numbers weren’t quite as impressive. The Final Round opened with a considerably more modest $51 million at the box office. While this secured it a confident first place in this sluggish lineup, the drop is still notable. In China, it pulled in $46 million over five days, bringing the worldwide total to $175 million, which isn’t bad considering the $120 million budget. However, with mixed reviews circulating, there are concerns that the film may lose steam quickly (a trend already seen with the second installment).
The weekend’s other new contender, Conclave, an Oscar hopeful, made a surprise climb onto the podium with a $6.5 million debut, which translates to a solid per-theater average. With good word-of-mouth, it seems likely the film will continue to draw steady interest throughout November.
Although another Oscar hopeful, Anora, has yet to launch widely, it still managed to crack the top 10, earning $867,000 from only 34 theaters (an impressive $25,504 per-theater average). Meanwhile, Joker: Double Madness, despite showing in significantly more theaters, has already fallen out of the top 10. Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, the film surpassed $200 million globally this week but is projected to finish at about $215 million—a mere fifth of what the first film made with a quarter of the budget.
