‘Venom’s CinemaScore From Audiences Revealed

Sony’s Venom hit theaters this weekend, and while critics have panned the Tom Hardy-starrer it seems like fans have been far kinder. CinemaScore has revealed its audience score and it’s a positive one.

CinemaScore, the company that measures audience reactions to films, has awarded Venom with a solid B+ score. It’s a score that is very much in line with the film’s Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score, which as of this article is sitting at 89 percent.

Of course, both the CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score are strikingly higher than the film’s critical rating — it’s currently sitting at 31 percent rotten over on Rotten Tomatoes — so what gives? There are any number of factors that could explain the disparity between audience and critical reactions, but it appears to be another example of just how large a difference there can be between how critics and casual audiences see films. A similar situation happened earlier this year with the horror film Hereditary.

In Hereditary situation, critics praised the film with it receiving an 89 percent fresh rating (as of the time of this article) but received a dismal D+ from audiences polled by CinemaScore. In the case of Venom, the situation is revered and it’s something that could honestly be a plus for not just the film, but the future of the Sony Universe of Marvel Characters. The CinemaScore rating is often seen as something of a box-office bellwether with films that have positive ratings doing well at the box office while those with low CinemaScores often see a drop in their receipts following opening weekend.

If Venom continues to stay strong at the box office — and the film has already shattered preview night records — it could end up being financially successful enough to warrant a sequel and movies beyond that, which is something that director Ruben Fleischer spoke with ComicBook.com about ahead of Venom‘s release, particularly in regard to things that couldn’t be included in this film, like specific character appearances.

“I think there’s a pretty obvious one inherent to the Venom franchise that for whatever reason couldn’t be included in the film,” Fleischer said. “But I will say that I look forward to future movies where said character could perhaps run across Venom. Nothing would be more exciting than a face-off with Spider-Man.”

Venom is in theaters now.

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