Venom: The Last Dancehas surpassed the total box office gross of DC’s best-performing movie from 2023 in only four weeks.Venom: The Last Dance’s endingseemingly closed out the trilogy for good, which likely factored into the film’s box office performance.Venomhas been a profitable franchise and, despite apparently ending,Venom 3’s post-credit sceneleaves the door open for future stories if Sony chooses to tell them. Although the performance of theupcoming Marvel movie,Kraven the Hunter,will likely have an impact on the Sony Spider-Man Universe,Venom 3’s box office success speaks for itself.
In only four weeks,Venom 3has outgrossed the entire box office run of 2023’s highest-grossing DC movie:Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.These figures come fromBox Office Mojo, which hasVenom 3’s worldwide box office total marked as $456 million thus far.Aquaman 2, however, only earned $439 million in its entire theatrical run. Not only does this mean potentially big things for theVenomseries and the Sony Spider-Man Universe, but it also says a lot about the state of DC in 2023.
What Venom 3’s Box Office Beating Aquaman 2 Means
ConcerningVenomspecifically and the upcomingSpider-Manmovies,Venom 3beating a movie likeAquaman 2could mean the production of a sequel. DespiteVenom 3’s seeming finality, there are ways Sony could resurrect the character/franchise should the studio desire it. Given that 2018’sAquamangrossed over $1 billion,Venom 3outperforming its sequel will give Sony food for thought regarding continuing the series.
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From the perspective of DC,Venom 3beatingAquaman 2goes to show how poor the state of the franchise was. 2023 was a historically poor year for DC movies, from the failure ofThe Flashto the underwhelming performances ofAquaman 2,Shazam 2, andBlue Beetle. To put it into perspective,Venom 3is the worst-performing movie in the trilogy commercially. Regardless of this,Venom 3still surpassed the best-performing DC movie of 2023 in only a month, proving thatJames Gunn’s upcoming DCU slateis needed now more than ever to reinject life into Marvel’s rival.
Our Take On Venom 3’s Box Office Beating Aquaman 2
In all honesty, I was not all that surprised to hear thatVenom 3surpassedAquaman 2’s box office. As alluded to, DC films have struggled of late;Aquaman 2is the highest-grossing movie in the DCEU since the first movie in December 2018, bettering the eight theatrical movies released since then. Only DC productions outside of the DCEU likeJokerandThe Batmanhave managed to outgrossAquaman 2since 2018, so - as I have stated - it does not come as a surprise thatVenom 3performed better.
After all, theVenomfranchise has undoubtedly been the strongest commercial pull for Sony Pictures in the Sony Spider-Man Universe. Now, I am hoping that Sony realizesVenomshould remain at the center of whatever plans the studio has going forward. The continued setup ofVenom 3’s Knullas a universe-altering threat is intriguing but without Venom, I cannot see how it would succeed. WithVenom: The Last Danceperforming better than every DC movie since 2018, Sony may finally put full stock in the titular character rather than less compelling ones like Morbius or Madame Web.
Venom: The Last Dance
Cast
Venom: The Last Dance is a film directed by an undisclosed director, featuring the character Venom in a thrilling narrative. The movie explores the alien symbiote’s latest challenges and transformations as it navigates through a world full of danger and new adversaries.
