Not even a menacing Hugh Grant can unseat the box office champion that is Tom Hardy’s Venom. Venom: The Last Dance has scored the number-one spot at the weekend box office for the third week in a row, continuing its impressive run.
The third entry in the Venom franchise pulled in an additional $16.2 million domestically, bringing its total to $114.8 million. Internationally, the film doubled its earnings, raking in $33 million for a worldwide haul of $394.2 million. Kelly Marcel, the franchise scribe, directs The Last Dance, which finds Hardy’s former reporter Eddie Brock and his symbiote companion Venom on the run, pursued by adversaries from both worlds.
Eddie’s body forces the friends to make a devastating decision that casts doubt on their future together. As the title suggests, the movie brings the Hardy-led trilogy to a close, but the filmmakers made sure to leave room for more adventures powered by symbiotes.
In a surprise second-place snag, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” debuted to an estimated $11.1 million domestically, bringing the holiday season to theaters across the country. Based on the bestselling book, the faith-based film centers on the Herdmans, a rowdy group of kids who take over their church pageant and shock the community by discovering the true meaning of Christmas.
Elsewhere, Grant poked and prodded at faith in Heretic, a religious horror film that sees him incite a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse. The film just barely missed its shot at second place, debuting to $11 million domestically. The film from Scott Beck and Bryan Woods picked up another $5.2 million in international markets for a global cume of $16.2 million.
Grant, the frightening figure at the center of the movie, previously told Entertainment Weekly that he is thrilled to be entering his villain era. “Let’s face it, no one wants me to play the romantic lead anymore,” he said. “And thank God they don’t.”
Grant’s credits have shifted from charming, affable men to straight-up antagonists, likely due to the fact that baddies have more fun (think Paddington 2, The Undoing, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and even Wonka).
“Every actor really prefers it,” Grant said of this villainous turn. “It’s difficult to find an actor or actress who expresses a preference for playing nice people.” They’rThey are tough and often border on being boThey can be extremely challenging, pleasant individuals, or even heroic figures. There always seems to be more depth to an evil character.
He added, “It’s a fascinating discussion about why that is and why audiences, from the beginning of time, have always latched onto the villains sometimes when they don’t really latch onto the good guy. So it’s always tempting for an actor.”
Grant plays Mr. Reed, a seemingly friendly man who welcomes two young missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), into his home under the guise of lively conversation about their faith. But beneath his usual warmth is a sinister ulterior motive, as the diabolical man seeks to test their faith.
In its seventh week of release, The Wild Robot experienced a mere 11 percent decline, slipping to fourth place with an additional $6.6 million added to its domestic total of $130.8 million.
The animated adaptation of Peter Brown’s children’s novel continued its success abroad, where another $8.9 million brought its worldwide total to an estimated $292.4 million. In the fifth position, the horror sequel Smile 2 made a significant impact, contributing $5 million to its domestic total of $60.5 million. Globally, the film sits at $123.6 million.