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
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
You must be logged in to post a comment.