‘Venom: The Last Dance,’ ‘The Wild Robot,’ and Specialized Hits Thrive

With a huge late November expected led by “Wicked” (Universal), “Gladiator 2” (Paramount), and “Moana 2” (Disney), another weak weekend ($74 million total, down from $96 million last year) isn’t a disaster. But it does make those films’ anticipated success that much more critical.

“Venom: The Last Dance” (Sony) benefited from much general audience competition to repeat at #1 with $26 million, down only 49 percent (a very strong hold, more so after its B- Cinemascore).

The positive news extends to an impressive continued performance for “The Wild Robot” (Universal), and then continued signs of a specialized/adult audience rebound. “Conclave” (Focus) fell only 20 percent its second week (#4, $5.3 million), “We Live in Time” (A24) has reached $17 million, “Anora” (Neon) did nearly $1.9 million in 253 theaters (an impressive $7,500 average), and “A Real Pain” (Searchlight) scored a strong $240,000 in four initial New York/Los Angeles theaters.

The weekend also saw three films of note not report their grosses. We estimate around $300,000 for Clint Eastwood’s “Juror #2” (Warner Bros.) in 31 theaters, $66,000 for Steve McQueen’s “Blitz” (Apple) in three, with Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” (Netflix) less clear, with its theater total also uncertain.

While it was a strong weekend for holdovers, Robert Zemeckis’ “Here” (Sony), initially slated as a platform, managed only $5 million in wide release, good for only fifth place. The $50 million film (before marketing) continued the director’s attempting original narrative devices (here a static camera and de-aging of actors including Tom Hanks), but with mostly negative reviews it failed to connect with audiences (including a B- Cinemascore).

The third “Venom” held much better than the first two, helped by the lack of competition (the previous entry faced “No Time to Die” its second weekend). Even better, it has grossed $227 million overseas already, making it the biggest foreign hit of the fall so far (“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” has lagged compared to domestic).

“The Wild Robot,” which is also available for home rental, surprisingly rose 11 percent in its sixth weekend with $7.5 million. Why? Lack of family alternatives, no competition from Halloween kids activities held last week, continued strong word of mouth may all have contributed. This is quite unusual.

“Conclave” added only a handful of theaters its second weekend to what was already a risky wide release rather than a conventional awards-oriented expansion. It is clearly succeeding, with now a real shot at a gross over $30 million (last year, Focus’ slowly-rolled out “The Holdovers” got to $20 million).

Meantime, Neon’s traditional strategy for “Anora” is equally successful before its wider release next week. It already is close to $4 million. “We Live in Time” with its more mainstream appeal continues to do well, down only 28 percent in sixth.

“A Real Pain,” Searchlight’s $10 million acquisition at Sundance, got to a $60,000 PTA based on strong reviews for Jesse Eisenberg’s film (costarring Kieran Culkin) about cousins traveling to Poland. Like most openings, this was boosted by appearances at key theaters over multiple days. It adds top cities this Friday before a wide release on November 15, with the hope this continues the recent trend of expansion success.

Warner Bros.’ perverse release of “Juror #2” in 31 (top) theaters with little marketing, limited press screenings, and no suggestion of awards push despite decent reviews and Eastwood’s track record saw the studio withhold gross information. That came despite foreign openings ($5 million, very strong in France) being reported. IndieWire tracked ticket sites for most of the domestic theaters, and estimates it grossed as much as $300,000. Its future, other than certain streaming on Max, possibly soon, is not clear, at least in theaters.

“Blitz” in three theaters also, particularly in New York, was aided by personal appearances. Unlike several other of Apple’s original films, they are not releasing through a studio. This slated to stream on November 22, with further theaters, though not likely wide, added before then.

“Emilia Pérez,” likely Netflix’s top awards contender, played nationally in limited release, with, as usual for the streamer, no grosses reported. The best of them was likely their own Paris Theatre in New York, which took in perhaps $15,000, a substantial part of that a Saturday night personal appearance show. #8 “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3″ (Shree International) and #9″Singham Again” (Moviegoer) grossed over $2 million, both in about 750 theaters.

Top 10

1. Venom: The Last Dance (Sony) Week 2; Last weekend #1

$26,100,000 (-49%) in 4,131 (no change) theaters; PTA (per theater average): $6,318; Cumulative: $90,047,000

2. The Wild Robot (Universal) Week 6; Last weekend #3; also on PVOD

$7,550,000 (+11%) in 3,231 (-196) theaters; PTA: $2,337; Cumulative: $121,476,000

3. Smile 2 (Paramount) Week 3; Last weekend #2

$6,800,000 (-29%) in 3,235 (-389) theaters; PTA: $2,102; Cumulative: $52,687,000

4. Conclave (Focus) Week 2; Last weekend #4

$5,300,000 (-20%) in 1,796 (+43) theaters; PTA: $2,951; Cumulative: $15,200,000

5. Here (Sony) NEW – Cinemascore: B-; Metacritic: 41; Est. budget: $50 million

$5,000,000 in 2,647 theaters; PTA: $1,889; Cumulative: $5,000,000

6. We Live in Time (A24) Week 4; Last weekend #5

$3,474,000 (-28%) in 2,964 (-4) theaters; PTA: $1,172; Cumulative: $17,694,000

7. Terrifier 3 (Iconic/Cineverse) Week 4; Last weekend #6

$3,228,000 (-32%) in 2,357 (-363) theaters; PTA: $1,369; Cumulative: $50,542,000

8. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (Shree International) NEW – Est. budget: $21 million

$2,230,000 in 754 theaters; PTA: $2,958; Cumulative: $2,096,000

9. Singham Again (Moviegoer) NEW – Est. budget: $50 million

$2,190,000 in 749 theaters; PTA: $2,924; Cumulative: $2,190,000

10. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros.) Week 9; Last weekend #7; also on PVOD

$2,085,000 (-33%) in 2,251 (-623) theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $

Other specialized/independent titles

Films (limited, expansions of limited) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first three weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are listed. Metacritic scores and initial film festivals recorded when available.

A Real Pain (Searchlight) NEW – Metacritic: 85; Festivals include: Sundance, New York 2024

$240,000 in 4 theaters; PTA: $60,000

Juror #2 (Warner Bros.) NEW – Metacritic: 73; Festivals include: AFI 2024

(est.) $310,000 in 31 theaters; PTA: $10,000

Absolution (Goldwyn) NEW – Metacritic: 51

$1,425,000 in 1,537 theaters; PTA: $926

Luther: Never Too Much (Giant) NEW – Festivals include: Sundance, HotDocs, Tribeca 2024

$122,028 in theaters; PTA: $13,559

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (Kino Lorber) NEW – Metacritic: 93; Festivals include: Sundance 2024

$9,076 in 1 theater; PTA: $9,076

Lost in a Mountain in Maine (Blue Fox) NEW – Metacritic:; Festivals include: Maine 2024

$380,000 in 630 theaters; PTA: $603

Godzilla Minus One (Toho International) (reissue)

$510,000 in 1,365 theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $56,927,000

Memoir of a Snail (IFC)

$70,250 in 24 (+19) theaters; PTA: $2,927; Cumulative: $145,091

Dahomey (MUBI) Week 2

$13,230 in 9 (+7) theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $52,524

Anora (Neon) Week 3

$1,897,000 (+%) in 253 (+219) theaters; PTA: $7,500; Cumulative: $3,947,000

Exhibiting Forgiveness (Roadside Attractions) Week 3 183

$9,775 in 15 (-168) theaters; Cumulative: $495,397

The Fall (MUBI) Reissue Week 3

$8,672 in 8 (-15) theaters; Cumulative: $283,378

Piece by Piece (Focus) Week 4

$32,000 in 519 (-779) theaters; Cumulative: $9,500,000

My Hero Academia: You’re Next (Toho) Week 4

$17,000 in 45 (-110) theaters; Cumulative: $5,034,000

White Bird (Lionsgate) Week 5

$300,000 in 952 (+698) theaters; Cumulative: $4,621,000

The Outrun (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 5

$25,798 in 37 (-7) theaters; Cumulative: $868,107

Saturday Night (Sony) Week 6

$235,000 in 453 (-698) theaters; Cumulative: $9,280,000

Lee (Roadside Attractions) Week 7; also on PVOD

$15,445 in 44 (-23) theaters; Cumulative: $1,961,000

The Substance (MUBI) Week 7; also on PVOD and streaming

$476,237 in 339 (-85) theaters; Cumulative: $15,444,000

Am I Racist? (SDG) Week 8

$9,600 in 13 (-23) theaters; Cumulative: $12,308,000