Venom: The Last Dance struggled to hit a home run in the national championship ticket officebut more than compensated for the deficit abroad to boast of a global opening equal to the last tranche. He also had no difficulty in rising to first place both nationally and globally.

The latest title in Sony’s franchise – based on the popular comic book antihero – launched to $51 million in 4,131 theaters in North America, well behind the expected $65 million, or domestic launch of 90 million dollars of Venom: Let there be carnage. The opposite was true abroad, where Last dance debuted as expected with $124 million for an overall start of $175 million against a relatively modest budget of $120 million. It soared to $46 million in China, the best showing for a superhero film since 2019 and the best showing of the year to date for a Hollywood title.

On Saturday it seemed that Last dance could actually reach $180 million globally, 5% better than 2021’s. Venom: Let there be carnage. But that did not materialize, although the numbers could change again by the final tally of international revenue on Monday. Regardless, Sony and its financial partners, including TSG, say they are in good shape.

In the United States, there is no doubt that the World Series showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees had an impact on the box office – particularly in the West – but Los Angeles and New York are still leading all markets for Venom 3. Insiders close to the film also worry that people will be distracted by early Halloween parties. It’s not uncommon for trios to fall, but no one on the Venom The team is happy with the severity of the decline as comic fatigue rears its ugly head again.

In North America, the first Venom opened to $80.2 million in 2018, then a record for October. He lost the crown a year later Joker ($96.2 million). Let there be carnageThe $90 million debut in October 2021 was a boon for theater owners still recovering from the pandemic and a major win for Sony. Exhibitors also counted on The last dance to generate robust traffic after a difficult October 2024 (some even thought it would reach $70 million).

The fanboy-fueled series was never a hit with critics, as the latest installment landed on Rotten Tomatoes with a 37% critics score and earned a worse B-CinemaScore than the franchise with audiences.

Directed by Kelly Marcel, Venom 3 stars Tom Hardywho returns in the titular role. Hardy also co-wrote the screenplay with Marcel, her longtime creative partner, who makes her directorial debut with the feature.

Paramount and Temple Hill Smile 2 placed second in its second release, down 59 percent to $9.4 million for a 10-day domestic cume of $40.7 million. (Estimates on Saturday showed the horror picture was higher, underscoring the impact of the World Series on the overall market.)

Award entrants targeting older audiences performed better.

On the way to third base, it’s Édouard Bergerthe Oscar nominee Conclavethe other new national opening of the weekend. The acclaimed Vatican thriller about the election of a new pope screened for an estimated $6.5 million in 1,753 theaters, the best grand opening to date for a specialty film competing in the race for this year’s awards.

Produced and financed by FilmNation and Indian Paintbrush, the film’s all-star cast includes Ralph FiennesStanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabelle Rossellini. Universal-owned Focus Features is distributing the film domestically. More than 44 percent of the audience was aged 55 and over, a staggering figure. The film outperformed in major Catholic markets, including Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston. Additionally, World Series games on the East Coast didn’t start until 8 p.m., meaning moviegoers had plenty of time to catch an afternoon or early evening showing.

Universal reports that Conclave is virtually tied for third place with DreamWorks Animation/Universal’s The wild robotwhich grossed approximately $6.5 million from 3,427 theaters in its fifth weekend.

A24’s specialty film We live in timewhich continued to expand, rounded out the top five with an estimated $4.8 million from 2,924 theaters for a domestic cume of $11.8 million, the best release of 2024 to date for a release on platform, according to the independent distributor. John Crowley directed the romantic drama starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh.

Elsewhere at the awards box office, Sean Baker and Neon’s Anora continued to impress in a major way by expanding to a total of 34 theaters to record the best per location average of the weekend ($25,504).

October 27, 8:20 a.m. Updated with revised estimates.

This story was originally published on October 26 at 9:25 a.m.