Venom Scores Record-Breaking Opening Night

They say any publicity is good publicity, right?

That’s certainly been the case for Sony’s Venom, which has been making headlines this week for all the wrong reasons. From those brutal first reactions to even harsher critical reviews, Eddie Brock certainly has people talking, and now, that’s translated into some solid numbers at the box office.

Already, Venom is off to a great start, scoring a record-breaking opening night. From what we understand, the movie raked in $10 million last night, which is the highest Thursday gross for October ever. That puts the Tom Hardy-led film on pace for a $57 to $65 million opening weekend stateside, which would set the record for best October debut, beating out Gravity‘s $55.7 million.

While this is all great news for Sony, it’s likely that Venom‘s box office numbers will be pretty front-loaded. It may start off strong, with diehard fans eager to check it out, but as those negative reviews continue to spread, things will probably begin to die down. Then again, many critics maintain that despite its flaws, there’s still a lot of fun to be had with the film, so who knows?

At this point, it’ll be interesting to watch how the titular symbiote continues to evolve. Sony obviously has very big plans for the character, with the studio hoping to build an entire cinematic universe centered around the creature, but it’s got to be a worthwhile investment for them if they’re to continue down that road. And if Venom ultimately flops at the box office, it could jeopardize the entire franchise.

For now, we’ll have to wait and see, but as the film continues its theatrical run, we’ll be sure to keep you posted every step of the way.