'Venom' Box Office Opens With Record-Shattering Preview Night

Tracking numbers have been predicting a record breaking opening weekend for Sony and Marvel's solo Venom flick and, after just one night in theaters, the movie has done just that.

According to a report from Variety, Venom earned a total of $10 million in preview showings on Thursday night, a new record for October previews. The only substantial competition for Venom on the night was the Bradley Cooper-directed, Lady Gaga-starring A Star Is Born, which earned $3.2 million. The musical film also took in a total of $1.4 million in sneak showings on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This big Thursday night goes a long way towards helping Venom take over the overall October opening weekend record. The month's current top dog is Gravity, which made $55.7 million in its debut in 2013.

As of now, the range of outcomes for Venom's opening weekend is pretty wide. Opening in a total of 4,250 theaters today, Venom is expected to earn anywhere between $55 million and $70 million this weekend. Even on the lower end of that total, Venom is still expected to break Gravity's five year record.

This weekend will be crucial not only to Venom's success, but the overall future of the shared universe that Sony is trying to launch with its Marvel characters. Venom is seen as the launching point for other movies based on Spider-Man's supporting cast. With a budget of $100 million, the film has a lot of work to do in order to be seen as a big success. A big opening weekend here in the domestic box office would go a long way toward more movies in the future. In other words, this weekend will have lasting effects on films like Morbius and Kraven the Hunter, which are supposedly in development at the studio.

How much money do you think Venom will make this weekend? Are you going to see it? Let us know in the comments!