“Dune,” Bond, Venom Beat Expectations

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – The numbers are now properly in and exhibitors, especially in the United States, are breathing a sigh of relief.

Marvel and Sony’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” beat all expectations, the sequel pulling in approximately $90.1 million over its opening weekend in the United States.

It’s the biggest domestic weekend since the pandemic began, it beat the $80 million opening of its pre-pandemic predecessor, and overall domestic box office revenue was less than 15% behind the same weekend back in 2019.

The news from around the world is equally heartening. “No Time To Die” has closed out its first weekend with $119.1 million in the bank from just a few dozen markets with the U.S. & China still to come. In like for like, the film is performing on par with “Skyfall” and just a tiny bit shy of “Spectre”.

Then there’s “Dune” which has crossed the $100 million mark in its third weekend of release in select international markets. Both Bond and “Dune” open later this month in the U.S. and are expected to do very good numbers.

The good news is outweighing the bad as “The Sopranos” prequel film flopped, “The Addams Family 2” opened a little soft, and arthouse cinemas are still struggling even though some releases like Cannes winner “Titane” performed quite well considering.