The domestic box office has returned enough at this point that it's a thing that we can, at the very least, track once again. While the numbers are still far lower in an absolute sense than they once were, and thus comparing films across years is impossible, we can still compare recent movies and judge relative success. Thus we can look at a movie like Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and while we can be fairly certain the film won't be able to top the success of the first film, things are still looking good for the new movie set in Sony's Spider-Man universe.
Venom was something of a surprise hit when it came out in 2018. While there were certainly expectations the movie would do well due to the popularity of the main character in Marvel Comics, the movie exploded in popularity both at home and abroad, raking in over $850 million globally, and doing over $200 million in domestic box office. Nobody was expecting the movie to do those sorts of numbers but when they happen, sequels get greenlit pretty quickly. And with that we have Venom: Let There Be Carnage coming out in just a few weeks.
It will come as little shock that the Venom sequel isn't looking to measure up quite as high as the first film. With the pandemic still an active issue the theatrical audience simply isn't looking as strong as it once did. Still, Venom: Let There Be Carnage looks to be putting in a strong effort as Box Office Pro is predicting a domestic box office total that could be as high as $145 million, with an opening weekend of between $45 and $65 million. That will make Venom 2 one of the highest grossing movies of the year without question.
For comparison, Godzilla vs. Kong ended its box office run just short of the $100 million mark and is currently the number seven movie by domestic box office total in 2021. If Venom 2 does the currently projected high end of $145 million, it will be the number five movie of the year, ahead of Disney's Jungle Cruise and behind A Quiet Place Part II's $160 million.
That's certainly solid company, and there's always the possibility that Venom 2 will, like its predecessor, exceed expectations. The pandemic situation has continued to be a moving target but that means there have been good times as well as bad and with the movie release still a couple of weeks away, things still have the potential to change for the better, giving more people the confidence to venture out into theaters. Of course, the opposite could also happen, which would likely be a major blow to the film's success.
We'll have to wait and see just what the result is, but things are currently looking good for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which, if nothing else is probably good news for whatever Sony has planned for the future of this larger franchise.
