‘Venom’ opens huge in China: Box-office analysis

Sony

• “Venom” scored the third-biggest opening for a superhero
  movie ever in China, only behind “Avengers: Infinity War” and
  “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
• It continues “Venom’s” impressive box-office run, which could
  top $700 million globally.
• Exhibitor Relations senior box-office analyst Jeff Bock told
  Business Insider that China responds well to monster films, and
  that it had an “advantageous” release date.

 

“Venom” continued its shocking box-office dominance over the
weekend in China, where it opened to a huge $102 million.
That’s the third-biggest opening ever for a superhero movie there
after “Avengers: Infinity War,” which opened to $191 million, and
“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” according to Box Office Mojo.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, it was
Imax’s biggest opening in the region, as well, with $10 million
of the movie’s China box office coming from Imax screens.

This puts “Venom’s” total worldwide gross at $673 million, which
means it could top $700 million globally now that Chinese
audiences are responding well to the movie. Its production budget
was $100 million, and it’s even more impressive considering the
movie’s lackluster 29% Rotten Tomatoes critic score.

“It seems that the disconnect between critics and audiences
has taken on an international flair with audiences around the
world and most recently China giving ‘Venom’ a resounding thumbs
up in the face of mixed reviews at best for the film,” Comscore
analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Business
Insider.

It’s good news for Sony after its “Girl in the Spider’s Web” bombed
at the US box office this weekend. “Venom” has exceeded all
expectations, and has rejuvenated Sony’s “Spider-Man”
plans after they looked dead just a few years ago. Now, a
“Venom” sequel is more than likely, and Sony can go all in on its
other planned spin-offs.

READ MORE:  ‘Venom’ gives Sony an edge over
Disney in its fight to keep Spider-Man, according to industry
experts

Exhibitor Relations senior box-office analyst Jeff Bock told
Business Insider that the success of “Venom” in China comes down
to the country’s interest in monster films, which “Venom” is
maybe even more so than a superhero movie.

“Monster films are bonafide box office gold in China and
‘Venom’ is about as monstrous as it gets in the superhero
universe,” Bock said.

This year’s hit giant-shark movie, “The Meg,” grossed $527
million worldwide, helped largely by the $153 million it made in
China. John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place,” about a family hiding
from alien creatures that hunt by sound, received a rare extension on its release in China
this year and scored $34 million there. And Dwayne “The Rock”
Johnson’s giant-monster movie, “Rampage,” made $156 million in
China after a sluggish start in the US.

Bock also attributes an “advantageous” release date to
“Venom’s” success in China. According to THR, a Japanese animated
film, “Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer,” opened second with
just $10.6 million, and in third, a Chinese romance, “Last
Letter,” opened with $5.4 million.

Dergarabedian views international audiences as responding to
the same things that moviegoers in the US are “as it continues to
confound analysts.”

“The film’s unique style, Marvel branding, and above
all Tom Hardy as the anti-hero at the heart of the story [are] proving to be an irresistible combination,” he said.