Audiences Rank ‘Venom’ Higher Than ‘A Star Is Born’ on Rotten Tomatoes

Venom has webbed up an 88% “liked it” audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, topping the 84% [...]

Venom has webbed up an 88% "liked it" audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, topping the 84% earned by romantic drama A Star Is BornVenom's biggest competitor for the weekend box office.

On similar website Metacritic, Venom has a 5.8 user score — far below the 9.2. user score for A Star Is Born.

Despite its critical mauling — Venom holds a 31% rotten from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to the 92% certified fresh critics score for A Star Is Born — the first entry in studio Sony's Spider-Man-less universe is proving a hit with audiences.

Earlier in the week, a subset of Lady Gaga fans were accused of besmirching Venom to help bolster the opening weekend of the Bradley Cooper and Gaga-starrer, which marks the fan-favorite popstar's first leading role on the big screen.

Venom is expected to win the weekend by landing somewhere in the neighborhood of $55 million — $70 million, and a potential worldwide bow in the range of $160m — $175m. Its Thursday night previews saw big turnout, bringing in a record-setting $10 million.

Those opening night numbers top previous record holder Paranormal Activity 3, which opened to $8 million in previews in 2011. If Venom stays on pace for its anticipated $55 million opening weekend, it would fall just short of 2013's Sandra Bullock and George Clooney-starrer Gravity, which holds that record with $55.7 million.

With a reported budget of $100 million, Sony hopes to use Venom as a springboard to launch its planned "Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters." Star Tom Hardy, who plays investigative reporter Eddie Brock and alien alter-ego Venom, has already inked a three-movie deal to headline a potential Venom trilogy.

The studio possesses the rights to roughly 900 Marvel Comics characters, according to Columbia Pictures president Sanford Panitch, who told Variety the studio is "focused on being faithful to the comics."

Sony is eyeing a standalone feature for longtime Spider-Man foe and sometimes anti-hero Morbius the Living Vampire — to star Suicide Squad's Jared Leto in the titular role, with Venom producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach on board and already teasing Leto's "awesomeness" — and is hopeful to start up projects starring supporting characters like Black Cat, Silver Sable, and Kraven the Hunter.

Venom ends with a sequel-teasing end credits scene that will bring in a notable star for a future followup.

Starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Riz Ahmed, Venom is now playing.

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