UPDATE: 2025-06-09 08:10 EST BY BRENNAN KLEIN
Venom 3 Boosted By $2.2 Million, Heretic And Best Christmas Pageant Ever Still Neck-And-Neck With $11 Million+ Grosses
This article was originally written Saturday AM and has been updated Sunday AM with up-to-date box office projections (in bold), a full chart, and further analysis.
Venom: The Last Danceconquers the box office again whileHereticandThe Best Christmas Pageant Everbattle for No. 2. TheVenom 3releasedebuted at No. 1 and held its position in its second weekend, besting Robert Zemeckis’Here, which starsForrest Gump’s Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. During its third weekend, it is competing with several smaller movies, with the most prominent new releases being A24’s Hugh Grant-led religious horror-thrillerHeretic, and the holiday dramedyThe Best Christmas Pageant Everstarring Judy Greer and Pete Holmes, based on the 1972 Barbara Robinson novel of the same name.
PerVariety, as of Sunday morning,Venom: The Last Danceis projected to take No. 1 at the domestic box office with a three-day total of$16.2 millionduring its third weekend,bringing its cumulative domestic total past both the $100 million and $110 million milestones in one fell swoop. The movie, which had a production budget of $120 million, is the 16th release of the year to cross the $110 million domestic threshold as well as the fifth to debut with three consecutive weekends at No. 1 afterMean Girls,Inside Out 2,Deadpool & Wolverine, andBeetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Meanwhile, whileVarietyreports the former at No. 3 and the latter at No. 2,Deadlinesuggests that it is slightly too early to tell whether theHereticrelease or theBest Christmas Pageant Everrelease will claim the No. 2 slot.Both are projected to earn middling but better-than-expected 3-day opening weekend grossesabove$11 million, which should put them both on track to earn a profit in theaters. Below, see the full Top 5 chart for the domestic box office this weekend:
1
$16.2 million
$114 million (weekend 3)
2
$11.1 million
$11.1 million (weekend 1)
~2
$11 million
$11 million (weekend 1)
4
$6.6 million
$130.2 million (weekend 7)
5
$5 million
$60.5 million (weekend 4)
While the No. 2 and No. 3 slots may not be officially confirmed until Monday morning, the rest of the Top 5 is clear. The holdover animated hitThe Wild Robothas continued to float gracefully down the chart with $6.6 million at a slim 11.4% drop, taking the No. 4 slot in the seventh weekend of its dazzling run. Meanwhile,the horror sequelSmile 2has passed the $60 million milestoneby adding $5 million, which is a solid 26% drop in week 4, taking No. 5 and more than doubling its $28 million budget in North America alone.
Why The Camera Only Moves Once In Here & What It Means
In the 2024 drama, Here, the camera moves only once during the entire movie, and as you might expect, it moves at one of the most pivotal moments.
With two new releases on the chart, the titles that have moved to make room areConclaveandHere. The buzzy Ralph Fiennes Catholic drama fell from No. 4 to No. 6 with a $4.1 million gross, whileRobert Zemeckis' experimental domestic drama staggered much farther down, falling from No. 5 to No. 8 with $2.4 million at a 52% drop. It was outdone by the slowly expanding release of Sean Baker’sAnora, which took No. 7 with roughly $2.5 million in spite of playing in just 1,104 theaters, which is 1,628 fewer thanHere.
What This Means For Venom: The Last Dance
The Tom Hardy Movie Is Righting The Ship
This strong third weekend for theVenom: The Last Dancebox officecomes in the wake of the movie posting the worst debut of the Tom Hardy franchise by a considerable margin. However, even though its $51 million domestic opening fell short, it only dropped 49.2% in its second weekend, which wasby far the lowest second-frame drop of the trilogy. Its third weekend drop of about37.4%is continuing that trend, as it is considerably slimmer than both previous installments. Below, see a breakdown of the performance of every installment in their first three weeks:
$80.2 million
56.4%
48.5%
$856 million
$90 million
64.7%
48%
$506.8 million
$51 million
49.2%
37.4%
$394.2 million (and counting)
Ultimately, it seems unlikely thatThe Last Dancewill ever close the gap enough to become the highest-grossing of theVenommovies. However, the rate at which it is growing is significantly higher thanLet There be Carnage, which was hit with the harshest drop after its strong debut. With a worldwide gross of $394.2 million at the end of its third weekend, the newmovie hasa strong chance of rising high enough to at the very least become the second highest-grossing movie in the franchise.
Our Take On The Weekend Box Office
Venom 3’s Days Are Numbered
AlthoughVenom: The Last Dance,Heretic, andThe Best Christmas Pageant Everare set for solid grosses through the end of their theatrical runs,they will all likely be buffeted off the domestic chart soonas the holiday movie season begins to heat up. Though it remains to be seen if the Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson-led holiday action-comedyRed Oneconnects with audiences, it seems guaranteed to take No. 1 next. It will then be followed by the trifecta ofWicked,Gladiator II, andMoana 2, which are set to take over the chart for the foreseeable future.
Venom: The Last Dance
Cast
Venom: The Last Dance is a film directed by an undisclosed director, featuring the character Venom in a thrilling narrative. The movie explores the alien symbiote’s latest challenges and transformations as it navigates through a world full of danger and new adversaries.
Heretic
Heretic, released in 2024, follows two young missionaries who must navigate a perilous test of faith when they encounter the sinister Mr. Reed after knocking on the wrong door, leading to a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
The Herdman children, known as the worst kids in town, take over the annual Christmas pageant, causing chaos and confusion for the local community. As the town braces for a disastrous performance, the Herdmans inadvertently teach everyone a heartwarming lesson about the true meaning of Christmas.
