Venom is killing it at the box office.
According to Deadline, the Sony/Marvel standalone flick racked in an estimated $10 million with its Thursday night opening, marking the biggest October film opening ever. The previous record holder was 2011’s Paranormal Activity 3, which earned about $8 million in its first day.
Though Venom has some competition this weekend—going against A Star Is Born, as well as the MLB playoffs and UFC 229—forecasters are convinced the film will earn between $60-$70 million before the work week. That would shatter the current October opening weekend record held by 2013’s Gravity ($55.7 million).
It’s an impressive start, no doubt, but can the antihero movie overcome its mixed audience reviews and low Rotten Tomatoes score?
We’ll know in a few days.
Venom is a Spider-Man spinoff film directed by Ruben Fleischer. The film stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, Woody Harrelson, and Jenny Slate.
Hardy recently spoke to Screen Rant about the project and what attracted him to the titular role.
“For me the initial draw was the interaction, the dynamic between Eddie Brock and the symbiote,” he explained. “And the inner conflict and the struggle between primal need which is the Venom. ‘When do we eat? The earth is an all you can eat buffet and why can I not do as I wish whenever I want.’ And Eddie Brock, who has very few scruples trying to create an ethical framework in order to negotiate the terms of this alien living inside of him. I thought this was really good fun. And it happens to be a Marvel movie too. But centrifugal, that was what was the key issue for me.”
