Weekend box office: 'Venom' continues to surpass expectations

Weekend Box Office - October 12 - 14, 2018

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) For the second straight week “Venom” surpassed all expectations on its way to another weekend atop the domestic box office. The film did dip 56 percent from last week for a weekend total of $35.7 million, but that’s radically better than almost anyone was predicting. I expected the film to finish bellow $30 million and finish the weekend in second place to “A Star is Born.” That didn’t happen and the race between the two was never even all that close. Worldwide “Venom” has earned $378 million. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” finished its run with $392.8 million after 17 weeks in theaters. “Venom” will hit that number sometime this week.

It might not have climbed above the competition, but “A Star is Born” only dipped 35 percent from last week’s numbers and finished the weekend with $28 million. That puts the film’s 10-day domestic total at $94 million. Warner Bros. gave the film a hefty marketing presence, but seeing as it cost only $36 million to make, there’s likely a sizable profit already made. Expect to see a massive awards season push for Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Overseas the movie has started to gain some momentum as well as the film brought in $21 million for an international total of $41 million. $135 million after 10 days? I think the studio can live with that.

“First Man” stumbled out of the gate with $16.5 million. The well-reviewed film about Neil Armstrong was expected to finish closer to $20 million. Overseas the film added $8 million, which is a little better than I would have predicted. Typically films that are focused on American history aren’t warmly received outside of the United States. Still, a $24 million worldwide opening week makes it hard to foresee that film earning back its $60 million budget. I, like many other critics, loved the film. Audiences weren’t nearly as impressed as CinemaScore has the film earning a B+.

“Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween” finished in line with expectations with $16 million. That’s short of the $23 million that the first film made its opening weekend, but the sequel cost nearly $25 million less to make. I’d expect to see this one linger for a few weeks, turn a profit and be followed up with another sequel in the next couple of years.

The animated feature “Smallfoot” wraps up the top five as it finished with $9.3 million for a $57.6 million domestic and a worldwide total of $110 million.

“Bad Times at the El Royale” finds itself in seventh place with $7.2 million. That’s less than originally expected, but not by much.

In limited release, “Jane and Emma,” the faith based film about Jane Manning, a black woman, and her friendship with Emma Smith, brought in $122,000, an average of $5,809 per theater.