NEW YORK — “Venom: The Last Dance,” despite not being a major hit at the North American box office, has managed to maintain its position at the top for three consecutive weekends. In a rather slow fall movie season, this superhero sequel garnered $16.2 million in ticket sales across U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, as per studio estimates released on Sunday. It successfully outpaced two new competitors: the horror thriller “Heretic” featuring Hugh Grant and the holiday-themed film “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”
With elections taking place on Tuesday, movie studios chose not to debut any new films, allowing Sony Pictures’ “Venom: The Last Dance,” which stars Tom Hardy, to retain its lead. Although the film opened with disappointing figures in late October, it has performed significantly better in international markets, achieving nearly triple its domestic earnings. To date, the “Venom” sequel has brought in $279.4 million overseas, culminating in a global total of $394.2 million.
The competition for second place was tight between “Heretic” and “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” When analyzing only ticket sales from Friday to Sunday, “Heretic” claimed the upper hand with an opening of $11 million. On the other hand, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” accounted for $2.2 million from preview screenings conducted last weekend, resulting in a total reported opening gross of $11.1 million.
2. “Heretic,” $11 million.
3. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” $8.9 million.
4. “The Wild Robot,” $6.7 million.
5. “Smile 2,” $5 million.
6. “Conclave,” $4.1 million.
7. “Anora,” $2.5 million.
8. “Here,” $2.4 million.
9. “We Live in Time,” $2.2 million.
10. “Terrifier 3,” $1.4 million.
