For a brief moment, it seemed that Sony Pictures’ plans for Venom and their incoming Spidey spinoff cinematic universe were dead in the water. Critics absolutely savaged the pic, leaving it with a conclusively Rotten 29% on the Tomatometer. But audiences turned up and just kept coming, resulting in the film crushing the competition with an $80M opening weekend, a $200M domestic haul and $545M at the global box office. And that number is set to grow even more if these figures from China are correct.
Over in the Middle Kingdom, the film raked in $34.2M on its opening day of release, eclipsing the previous solo superhero movie record-holder Spider-Man: Homecoming. Box office wonks are predicting that it could round out its global theatrical run with a $750M payout, and considering it was made on a relatively slender $100M, that’s not bad. Especially considering that this is a movie that’s not tied into a cinematic universe (though it does launch one), it doesn’t feature an A-list superhero and, as mentioned, got terrible reviews.
It’s also worth pointing out that it’s looking increasingly likely that Venom will top Justice League‘s anaemic $650M total box office, which must really stick in Warner Bros.’ craw.
These numbers from China are just another bit of news that will surely put a smile on the faces in the Sony Pictures boardroom as they line up their future plans for what they’re dubbing Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters – or SUMC, for short (it just rolls off the tongue). Already on the way is Morbius, with Jared Leto in the title role, with development ongoing for Kraven the Hunter, Silk, Jackpot, Nightwatch, Silver Sable and Black Cat. Ordinarily, I’d be skeptical that these characters could carry a movie on their own, but hey, if Venom can, then why not the rest?
