'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' Breaks Pandemic Records With $ 90.1 Million Box Office Debut

 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' Breaks Pandemic Records With $ 90.1 Million Box Office Debut

Pandemic cinema is finally beginning to resemble pre-pandemic cinema. Sony Pictures' Marvel sequel 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage' surpassed expectations to debut with $ 90.1 million in ticket sales, easily making it the best opening of the pandemic, according to estimates by studies on Sunday.

Venom 2 had been predicted to open with more than half that total. But the film, which is screened exclusively in theaters, surpassed even the debut of the 2018 original. 'Venom,' the offshoot of 'Spider-Man' that featured Tom Hardy's parasitic alien symbiote, was released with $ 80.3 million. of dollars.

Only the 'Joker' of 2019 ($ 96.2 million) has opened bigger in October.

The result, coupled with strong international sales of the James Bond film "No Time to Die," was the best news for theaters in more than 18 months.

"With apologies to Mr. Twain: The death of the movies has been greatly exaggerated," Tom Rothman, president, and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group said in a statement.

Both 'Let There Be Carnage' and 'No Time to Die' had originally been scheduled to open last year. Believing the best box office comeback would come with an exclusive theatrical release, both studios (neither of which have a major streaming platform) balked at better movie-going conditions. During the weekend, their wait was rewarded.

"No Time to Die," which opens in North America on Friday, launched for $ 119.1 million in 54 foreign markets. The pace, according to MGM and Universal Pictures (which has many international rights), was more or less in line with the opening of 'Skyfall'. Following its London premiere last week, 'No Time to Die', the 25th Bond film and Daniel Craig's latest appearance as the super spy, grossed $ 25.6 million in the UK and Ireland. It's $ 11.4 million on Saturday was the best box office day for any Bond film on its own turf.

Before 'Let There Be Carnage', the main pandemic openings had been 'Black Widow' with $ 80 million, 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' with $ 75 million, and 'Fast and Furious 9' with a gross of $ 70 million.

Black Widow 'was released simultaneously in homes, prompting a lawsuit from star Scarlett Johansson that was settled last week. 'Shang-Chi', 'F9' and 'Let There Be Carnage' debuted only in theaters.

"Movies can only become cultural when people watch them together on the biggest and best screens and have that experience as a group," said Josh Greenstein, president of Sony Motion Pictures Group. "You can't replicate that by yourself at home."

After numerous delays, Sony finally pushed forward the release of the sequel to "Venom" by two weeks, directed by Andy Serkis and co-starring Woody Harrelson as Venom Carnage's enemy.

"We saw the health of 'Shang-Chi' and it gave us confidence that when the product is there, the box office will return," said Adrian Smith, Sony's head of distribution. "It is very valuable to see the demand for theatricality."

Not everything is picking up in theaters and fast like Marvel movies and major brands. Family cinema attendance continues to be slow, as are ticket sales at art theaters. Older audiences and families with unvaccinated children have been more cautious.

'The Addams Family 2', an animated sequel to MGM and United Artists Releasing, opened for $ 18 million despite terrible reviews (27% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) from critics. The film, a sequel to the 2019 cartoon reboot, was simultaneously released on video-on-demand.

'The Saints of Newark', the prequel to 'The Sopranos', failed. The film, co-written by 'The Sopranos' creator David Chase and set decades before the seminal HBO series, opened for $ 5 million. The film was also streamed on an OTT platform for subscribers, a practice that some filmmakers, including Chase, have criticized. The studio is committed to returning to exclusive theatrical windows in 2022.

'Titane' de Julia Ducournau, ganadora de la Palma de Oro en el Festival de Cine de Cannes este verano, también luchó por hacerse un hueco en los cines. La película, una odisea salvaje sobre una mujer asesina en serie con un vínculo único con los automóviles, recaudó alrededor de $ 516,000 en 562 salas de cine para Neon.

Pero el cine de espectáculos, particularmente en las películas que atraen más a los hombres más jóvenes, ha estado impulsando una proporción aún mayor de espectadores este año. 'Shang-Chi' de Marvel, la primera película del estudio dirigida por un superhéroe asiático, ha dominado el último mes en los cines. Había sido la película número uno durante cuatro semanas consecutivas. 'Shang-Chi' se convirtió este fin de semana en la primera película en pasar $ 200 millones a nivel nacional, con una recaudación acumulada de $ 206,1 millones en los EE. UU. Y Canadá, y $ 386,9 millones a nivel mundial.

Large-format displays are also helping drive the recovery. With $ 30 million in global sales, IMAX had its best weekend of October. Megan Colligan, president of IMAX Entertainment, called it a test of "what today's box office is capable of."

"The perception may be that these films are outperforming," Colligan said, "but the reality is that a lot of people are underestimating how excited global consumers are to get back to the movies."