‘Venom’ Opens to $80 Million at the Box Office

Venom is biting the head off of the box office in its opening weekend in theaters.

Venom will earn $80 million in its opening weekend at the box office following a record-breaking preview night. A Star Is Born, the Lady Gaga film that fans on the internet turned into a nemesis for Venom, will come in second with about $42.6 million in its opening weekend.

Venom blew past early projections, which had it pegged for $60 million tops. Venom will easily become the biggest October box office opening of all time, surpassing previous record-holder Gravity, which opened to $55.8 million in 2013.

Venom stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, the journalist who bonds to an alien symbiote to become the Spider-Man villain and then antihero called Venom. Tough Venom’s origin is tied tightly to Spidey in the Marvel Comics universe, Sony is using Venom as a launchpad for its own universe of films focused on Spider-Man supporting characters such as Morbius, Black Cat, Silver Sable, and Nightwatch.

Venom is directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and was made with a $100 million budget.

Venom has received mostly negative reviews from critics, managing only a 32 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, but fans have been much more positive on the film, awarding it an 88 percent audience score.

Keep reading to see the full top ten at the box office this weekend.

1. Venom

Opening Weekend
Friday: $32.9 million
Weekend: $80 million

Journalist Eddie Brock is trying to take down Carlton Drake, the notorious and brilliant founder of the Life Foundation. While investigating one of Drake’s experiments, Eddie’s body merges with the alien Venom — leaving him with superhuman strength and power. Twisted, dark and fueled by rage, Venom tries to control the new and dangerous abilities that Eddie finds so intoxicating.

Venom is directed by Ruben Fleischer, written by Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinkner, and Kelly Marcel, and stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, and Reid Scott.

2. A Star Is Born

Opening Weekend
Friday: $15.8 million
Weekend: $42.6 million

Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers — and falls in love with — struggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer until Jackson coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally’s career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jackson fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.

A Star is Born is a remake of the 1937 film of the same name that is produced, directed by, and stars Bradley Cooper. Cooper also co-wrote the film’s screenplay with Eric Roth and Will Fetters. The film also stars Lady Gaga, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle, and Sam Elliott, 

3. Smallfoot

Week Two
Friday: $3.5 million
Weekend: $14.9 million
Total: $42.7 million

Migo is a friendly Yeti whose world gets turned upside down when he discovers something that he didn’t know existed — a human. He soon faces banishment from his snowy home when the rest of the villagers refuse to believe his fantastic tale. Hoping to prove them wrong, Migo embarks on an epic journey to find the mysterious creature that can put him back in good graces with his simple community.

Smallfoot is based on the book Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablos. The film is co-written and directed by Karey Kirkpatrick, and stars the voices of Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common, LeBron James, Gina Rodriguez, Danny DeVito, Yara Shahidi, Ely Henry, and Jimmy Tatro

4. Night School

Week Two
Friday: $3.6 million
Weekend: $12.2 million
Total: $42.7 million

Teddy Walker is a successful salesman whose life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally blows up his place of employment. Forced to attend night school to get his GED, Teddy soon finds himself dealing with a group of misfit students, his former high school nemesis and a feisty teacher who doesn’t think he’s too bright.

Night School is directed by Malcolm D. Lee and stars Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Rob Riggle, Taran Killam, Romany Malco, Keith David, and Loretta Devine.

5. The House With a Clock in Its Walls

Week Three
Friday: $1.7 million
Weekend: $7.2 million
Total: $55 million

Ten-year-old Lewis goes to live with his oddball uncle in a creaky old house that contains a mysterious ticktock noise. He soon learns that Uncle Jonathan and his feisty neighbor, Mrs. Zimmerman, are powerful practitioners of the magic arts. When Lewis accidentally awakens the dead, the town’s sleepy facade suddenly springs to life — revealing a secret and dangerous world of witches, warlocks and deadly curses.

Based on the 1973 novel by John Bellairs, The House With a Clock in its Walls is directed by Eli Roth and stars based on the 1973 novel of the same name by John Bellairs and stars Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sunny Suljic, and Kyle MacLachlan. 

6. A Simple Favor

Week Four
Friday: $1 million
Weekend: $3.5 million
Total: $49.1 million

A Simple Favor, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily’s (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town.

Based on Darcey Bell’s 2017 novel of the same name, the film also stars  Henry Golding and Andrew Rannells.

7. The Nun

Week Five
Friday: $740,000
Weekend: $2.7 million
Total: $113.4 million

When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together, they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.

The Nun is directed by Corin Hardy and written by Gary Dauberman, based on a story by Dauberman and James Wan. The film stars Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, and Jonas Bloquet.

9. Crazy Rich Asians

Week Eight
Friday: $569,000
Weekend: $2.1 million
Total: $169.2 million

Rachel Chu is happy to accompany her longtime boyfriend, Nick, to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. She’s also surprised to learn that Nick’s family is extremely wealthy and he’s considered one of the country’s most eligible bachelors. Thrust into the spotlight, Rachel must now contend with jealous socialites, quirky relatives and something far, far worse — Nick’s disapproving mother.

Crazy Rich Asians is adapted from the novel written by Kevin Kwan. The film is directed by Jon M. Chu and stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Nico Santos, Lisa Lu, Ken Jeong, and Michelle Yeoh.

10. The Predator

Week Four
Friday: $214,000
Weekend: $850,000
Total: $49.9 million

From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biologist can prevent the end of the human race.

The film stars Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen and Sterling K. Brown. The film is directed by Shane Black.