Movies News Talk
Venom: The Last Dance – A box office Bite That Mostly Misses the Mark
Sony's Venom: The Last Dance swung into theaters and had an interesting reception! The critical response is largely negative (37% on Rotten Tomatoes), and that’s an understatement – many found several serious issues with this storyline and several viewers simply hated it. While many diehard Venom fans turned up in theaters (mostly due to its lead star, Tom Hardy) overall the excitement just isn't that strong for most. That initial global opening ($175 million, surprisingly not as massive as projected!), though a success overall; was vastly under those initially promised figures.
While underperforming domestically ($51 million – considerably below expectations at $65 million), those lower-than-projected domestic earnings are offset by strong numbers overseas ($124 million, surprisingly high! Especially when compared to domestic), bringing those global numbers surprisingly high and well past initial expectations which significantly affected some production choices.
This underwhelming showing pales compared to earlier releases in this now-concluding series. Those previous installments show strong numbers compared to this third installment: The first Venom ($856 million globally) had a larger presence compared to Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($500 million globally) this third entry was a major letdown; that is simply obvious and clearly disappointing given just how much financial potential should’ve been achieved from these past successes and is shown clearly in the disappointing performance across theaters.
Experts offer those necessary contextual points highlighting how serious this misfire was: Jeff Bock (Exhibitor Relations) explains some of the larger underlying concerns relating to those poor viewing results ("Superhero fans want the stakes raised with each successive installment — that just didn’t happen"). And this highlights the actual issue— the franchise hasn’t built that momentum expected, instead creating those smaller-scaled efforts which do less to truly increase excitement compared to that kind of excitement seen with some much larger events.
David A. Gross (Franchise Entertainment Research) notes overall struggles, specifically relating to the weak performance that Joker: Folie à Deux exhibited ("Moviegoing is falling back into its sunken state… ‘Joker 2’ left a hole, and ‘Venom 3’ is not filling it”). The underwhelming box office, despite multiple high-profile releases showing those major cinematic expectations. It simply didn’t have that kind of spark or draw. The underperformance affected the larger marketplace itself, creating less hope and confidence; highlighting that the industry struggles; affecting productions such as Venom 3; with several additional factors relating to decreased viewing numbers in theaters in general. It showcases serious problems related to current industry issues!
Many have seen the movie. The criticisms? The storyline is a messy disaster! A plot focused on releasing that godlike figure Knull from that outer-space jail fails miserably at conveying urgency, mostly relying on creating unexpected plots that have less sense. Several characters appear, then vanish without contributing in any significant manner and creates that sinking feeling; which happens in some seriously badly-written late-stage superhero Movies that fail completely in showing any sense.
The "codex", this key element for understanding what Knull's prison really was supposed to imply, goes mostly unexplained, showing a creative failure – even a plot concerning Knull's actual backstory only made sense after reading more from Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman's original comics. It is a plot entirely based on relying on fans already understanding the deeper meaning; yet failing miserably in bringing those details across through its storyline, creating even bigger issues of inconsistent character relationships.
The movie does however present moments where those other moments happen; this creates another problem entirely. Random and largely unecessary side plots appear without much context— like Dr. Payne's (Juno Temple) brother’s death or a road trip with Rhys Ifans; moments which only existed seemingly to justify using these side stories for something potentially greater – never used nor mentioned in later plots!
This brings forth a different aspect that many audiences found compelling: Tom Hardy’s performance. It shows once again the huge star power this actor exhibits! That consistent, weirdly compelling approach towards that unique relationship with Venom—which included hilarious moments like Venom’s cooking and dance moves— remains memorable for fans and fans have found enjoyment from his consistent presence in what became those more memorable aspects of this superhero character.
Despite this amazing element; those questionable production choices surrounding the movie's creation hurt it critically! Instead of creating more of what made previous installments a relative success – that unique balance between creating memorable comedic moments yet still maintain those crucial serious plot moments – it shifted towards the completely unnecessary addition of excessive jokes; completely dropping that tense environment of that earlier and generally well-made first installment. That balance seems largely lost– suggesting creative mistakes had transpired during production.
Venom: The Last Dance is a seriously mixed bag! The movie doesn't successfully utilize many key details that would've created that sense of excitement found within some well-written stories and many found many issues within its script. Yet some surprisingly powerful moments could justify certain aspects, especially around Hardy's consistently entertaining presence as a performer and showcasing a deeply flawed individual. It makes a grand spectacle with those many surprising cameos which pleased some fans! And that mysterious post-credits sequence keeps viewers thinking and creates significant additional anticipation! Does it make this series "worth it"? That question would require more attention than given.