The effects of the pandemic meant that Venom: Let There Be Carnage never stood a chance of coming anywhere close to matching the $856 million box office haul of its predecessor, but that hasn’t stopped Andy Serkis’ superhero sequel from becoming one of the biggest hits to have landed in theaters since the beginning of 2020.
Tom Hardy’s return as Eddie Brock nabbed the highest-grossing opening weekend since December 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker when it debuted to $90 million last month, and it’s now hit another notable milestone after becoming just the second title to cross $200 million domestic after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The 25th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe topped out at $221 million, but having been playing for seven weeks already, the chances of Let There Be Carnage claiming surpassing it remain slim. However, the latest comic book blockbuster from Sony will pass Shang-Chi‘s worldwide tally of $430 million by the end of today, so it’s a huge win for the symbiote nonetheless.
A third installment will inevitably be announced in the not too distant future, and it’ll be the most hotly-anticipated of the trio given the post-credits scene that saw Venom: Let There Be Carnage set itself on a collision course with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.