Eddie Brock and his alien symbiote other half aren’t having the best week, that’s for sure.
Sony’s Venom has been receiving an overwhelmingly negative response from critics lately, with the film currently sitting at a measly 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. To be fair, there does seem to be a few things to like about it – Tom Hardy’s performance, for one – but overall, it sounds like Venom is a dud and a rather underwhelming start to the studio’s grand plan for their own little Marvel universe.
Of course, the box office numbers will ultimately decide where things go from here, and thankfully, those are still looking pretty good. According to Deadline, the pic is eyeing a $60-$65 million opening weekend domestically, while overseas it could earn anywhere from $100 to $110 million.
If gauged correctly, the Marvel Entertainment production would shatter the box office record held by Alfonso Cuarón’s seven-time Academy Award-winning picture Gravity. That’s the film which can currently lay claim to the largest domestic opening weekend in October, scoring an impressive $55.7 million when it debuted back in 2013.
If Deadline’s estimates hold true though, then Venom should be able to trounce that figure with the utmost of ease. I mean, even at the low end of its projection ($60 million), it’ll be able to snatch the crown from Gravity.
Then again, as more and more reviews surface, the Tom Hardy-led film may be unable to maintain audience interest heading into the weekend. But regardless of where it ultimately ends up at the box office, it seems that Venom will still pull in at least a healthy profit for Sony. Though whether it’s enough to justify the rest of the Marvel movies they have planned remains to be seen.
