‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Eyes for $71 Million Opening Weekend

Variety.com: “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” is expected to dominate the domestic box office this weekend, with an estimated opening haul of $71.3 million.

The Marvel sequel, which is produced and distributed by Sony and playing exclusively in theaters, sank its teeth into $37.25 million on Friday from 4,225 locations. Between now and Sunday, the Columbia Pictures film is expected to raise that number to around $71.3 million, with some industry projections predicting a debut gross closer to $80 million.

Starring Tom Hardy as the titular character, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” sees the symbiote facing off against Woody Harrelson’s Carnage in a battle of monstrous proportions. “Venom 2” is directed by Andy Serkis and also stars Michelle Williams and Naomie Harris.

Coming in at second place on the box office charts is United Artists Releasing and MGM’s “The Addams Family 2,” which took in $5.5 million on Friday from 4,207 theaters. The spooky comedy sequel starring Oscar Isaac and Charlize Theron is estimated to make $16 million in its opening weekend.

Meanwhile, “Shang-Chi,” which has been a mainstay at the top of the box office for the past month, was knocked down to No. 3 this weekend, but is still going very strong with an estimated weekend cume of $5.5 million to $6.5 million. This weekend’s haul should bring the Disney and Marvel film over the $200 million mark, keeping its place as the highest-earning film of the year and the pandemic era.

In the No. 4 spot is new release “The Many Saints of Newark,” the prequel film to HBO’s wildly popular series “The Sopranos.” The Warner Bros. film, which also opened simultaneously on HBO Max, is expected to make a total of $5.3 million in its first weekend in theaters. Universal’s “Dear Evan Hansen” rounds out the top five, and is expected to add another $2.4 million to its haul, bringing its total to $11.7 million.