Comics
‘Venom’ Invades the Box Office With $200M Worldwide Opening!
Holy. Shit.
Even with all of the negative press leading into its release, Columbia Pictures’ Venom bonded with audiences to receive a B+ CinemaScore. Whether critics liked it or not, the Ruben Fleischer-directed Spider-Man spinoff was a monstrous hit, pulling in not only $80M here in the States, but another $125M internationally for an estimated $205M global opening. Get this, it hasn’t even opened in China yet!
For perspective, this opening will be an October record previously held by Gravity, which celebrated $55.7M. Also, even more shocking, Venom‘s opening is bigger than any of the Spider-Man movies. Ever. For even more perspective, if this had actually been a horror movie (as originally promised), it would have been the largest horror opening ever. As you may recall, New Line Cinema’s IT opened to $158M worldwide. Venom should top $700M through its theatrical life.
Tom Hardy puts on a performance for the ages as the title character and Eddie Brock, Riz Ahmed’s Carlton Drake becomes one with Riot, and Michelle Williams appears as Eddie’s love interest, Anne Weying. In the film, Drake retrieves alien symbiote that in turn are intent on devouring Earth. Hardy’s Eddie Brock/Venom must stop him.
The film’s budget is being reported in the $100M range, which means about a $200M total spend on the film. A safe breakeven point would be estimated somewhere between $300M-$400M worldwide. Domestic should top $200M alone, which means a sequel is probably already in the works. Hardcore comic fans will finally get to see Cletus Kasady’s Carnage on the big screen, which will be played by Woody Harrelson.
The Eli Roth-directed The House With a Clock In Its Walls added $7.2M for a $55 domestic total and only $79 worldwide. On a $42 reported budget, things aren’t looking so hot for this Jack Black-starrer children’s comedy. Elsewhere, CBS Films’ Hell Fest added $2M domestic for a global total of $9.5M, New Line Cinema’s Conjuring spinoff The Nun is sitting at $346M worldwide, and Fox’s Shane Black-directed The Predator continues to die a quick death, dropping another 76% to a $900,000 weekend and $123M worldwide total. The budget is a reported massive $88M and looking at major losses.
Comics
‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics
Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.
Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.
In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”
The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”
Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”
“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.
Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”
Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.
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Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
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Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
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Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover
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Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)
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Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)
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Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)
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Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)
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Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)
Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
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