‘Venom’ Still on Track for Record-Breaking Opening Weekend

Despite negative reactions and reviews all over the Internet, Marvel and Sony’s Venom solo flick is still pacing for a record breaking opening weekend at the box office.

According to the latest numbers from Deadline, Venom is on track for a domestic opening weekend haul between $60-$65 million. Worldwide, Venom is eyeing a debut anywhere from $160 million to $175 million.

Opening in a total of 4,250 domestic theaters this weekend, plus IMAX, Venom has a great opportunity to break the record for biggest opening weekend in October history. The current holder of that record is Gravity, which debuted to $55.7 million in 2013.

The only thing that could damper the opening weekend hopes for Venom at this point is the growing negative reaction from critics online, and the potentially bad word of mouth that could follow once the film opens in theaters on Thursday night. As it stands now, Venom has a disappointing 27 percent rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. If the negative attention continues, fans could be swayed into staying away from the theater entirely.

Competing against Venom is the remake of A Star Is Born, the directorial debut for Bradley Cooper. The film, in which Cooper also stars alongside Lady Gaga, has received exactly the opposite of Venom in terms of critical reaction, and it boasts a 95 percent fresh score heading into its first weekend. Despite the positive reviews, the R-rated musical drama isn’t expected to be a massive thorn in the side of Venom, considering the vastly different target audiences. At this point, A Star Is Born is looking to open at $30 million plus at 3,500 locations around the country. Per Deadline’s report, some sources indicate that the film could get past $40 million at the domestic box office this weekend, thanks to its overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Will you be going to see Venom this weekend? What do you think it will make at the box office? Let us know in the comments!