We're about to enter spooky season, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage is going to kick things off with what sounds like an impressive opening weekend in this pandemic era. With a week to go before No Time to Die is released, the Marvel Comics sequel has time to make an impact, albeit not as much as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' four-week streak at the top.
Sony Pictures is currently estimating a $40 million 3-day debut in North America for Venom: Let There Be Carnage; however, Deadline believes that the movie could earn upwards of $60 million!
The trade talks about attending a fan screening earlier this week, and notes that "There wasn’t an empty seat in the house and the movie played like gangbusters to great cheers with fans dressed in tow." They also technically break the review embargo by saying, "Unlike the clunkiness of the first 2018 movie, which totally delivered, this sequel heightens the Venom mythology and continues the Spidey villains toward a Sinister Six track which Sony definitely has its eyes upon down the road."
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In terms of competition, The Addams Family 2 and The Many Saints of Newark don't pose much of a threat to Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Sony's biggest concern remains how many theaters are open in this pandemic era, as well as how many under 12s will be able to attend unvaccinated.
It's certainly going to be interesting to see how the Venom sequel compares to Black Widow and Shang-Chi, and providing reviews and word of mouth are good, there's a chance it will exceed expectations. We'll obviously keep you updated as we head into the weekend, but screenings start tomorrow evening (the review embargo, meanwhile, lifts at 6am PT tomorrow).
Are you planning to watch Venom: Let There Be Carnage this weekend?
Click on the "Next" button below to check out the characters we
want to see in the Venom franchise...before Spider-Man!
8. The Jury
Eddie Brock managed to stay under the radar in Venom, but if the trailers for Venom: Let There Be Carnage are any indication, Detective Patrick Mulligan will be nipping at his heels in this sequel. Regardless of whether Venom, Eddie, or both are outed to the public here, The Jury make perfect sense as the lead villains in a third movie.
During his time as a "Lethal Protector," Venom found himself pursued by this group of powerful vigilantes at the behest of their benefactor, General Orwell Taylor.
His son was killed by Venom during a prison escape, and with weaponry based on Venom's greatest weaknesses, these armoured goons would make for extremely formidable foes to the symbiote. Taylor could even be reimagined as Carlton Drake's father, while it might make sense for them to unleash a symbiote of their own (we'll get to that a little later).
7. Anti-Venom
After a clash with Mr. Negative, Eddie Brock ended up with a newly created symbiote dubbed "Anti-Venom." Flash Thompson would then don this artificial suit, though with a relatively short history in the grand scheme of the Marvel Universe, a lot of liberties could be taken with how the character is portrayed.
With so many of Anti-Venom's roots based in science (the symbiote was recreated after its initial destruction), we could see him become Eddie Brock's polar opposite tasked with putting an end to Venom.
We're not sure who would be in the suit in that case, but this could also be the next evolution for Venom or even a new moniker Eddie is forced to take on should his current alien other leave or betray him. After all, there's surely no way Venom will be able to resist bonding with Spider-Man when they meet, so this may be an option for a Venom 4 as well!
6. Sin-Eater
Sony Pictures has taken a lot of liberties with Venom thus far, including the main parts of his origin story. This Eddie was never disgraced for his incorrect story about the Sin-Eater's true identity, but there are still ways for these two to cross paths (giving Venom a new, non-symbiote villain in the process).
Years after he published a story with a fake confession from a copycat killer, Eddie was haunted by a new Sin-Eater who even targeted the woman he loves, Anne Weying. That could obviously serve as the basis for this storyline.
We'd want to see the original version, Stanley Carter, in a possible Venom 3, though. If that follows Venom as a "Lethal Protector," then he might initially find a partner in Sin-Eater before it becomes clear the vigilante needs to be stopped. It's possible that would also show Eddie he's heading down the wrong route, putting him on track to be a proper superhero.
5. Agent Venom
We're not anticipating seeing Flash Thompson in any future Venom movies, and it really wouldn't make sense to take Eddie down this route unless the plan is to completely reinvent the character.
Instead, we'd be excited to see "Agent Venom" created by a group like The Jury to counter the threat they believe Venom to be. Riot wasn't all that different from Carnage in Venom, and while we're sure Andy Serkis has some surprises in store, it feels a lot like there are only so many places to take that type of symbiote. Agent Venom, however, presents a vastly different type of foe for Eddie.
He could unleash all sorts of different weaponry against Venom, and this is a fight it could be fun to watch play out on screen. Like Anti-Venom, we can't say for sure who would be in the suit, but it could quite easily be a newly created character or one from the comic books who has been overhauled.
4. Mac Gargan
Spider-Man: Homecoming appeared to be setting the stage for Mac Gargan to return as Scorpion, but the plot thread appears to have been abandoned in the years that have followed. On the plus side, Sony Pictures can still make use of this bad guy in its own Marvel movie franchises.
Venom is a natural fit, especially given Mac's history with the symbiote. We could get a Variant who is a rebooted version of the character more in line with the comic books. This Mac would be a P.I. investigating Venom (instead of Spider-Man) who dons the Scorpion suit before getting his own symbiote and becoming a hybrid rather than that hulking, brain-eating member of the Thunderbolts.
Alternatively, the MCU's Mac is a possibility; Venom 3 could follow a similar path to the one laid out above, albeit with a criminal background rather than that of a P.I.
3. Scream
Venom did a pretty poor job of introducing the Life Foundation symbiote, and Scream was among them. The alien's fate was left somewhat up in the air, but there's thankfully enough room here to do some sort of retcon or reboot and give this character the big screen treatment she deserves.
Using the body of a woman called Donna Diego as a host, Scream started off as a merciless killing machine and later followed in Venom's footsteps by seeking redemption as an anti-hero. Donna eventually died, but the alien remained, and she's been the star of many comics in the years that followed.
We'd love to see Scream initially show up as an enemy, only to later become an unexpected ally to Venom. Throw She-Venom into the mix, and this is a clash with all the makings of something special.
2. Toxin
Stephen Graham will play Detective Patrick Mulligan in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and fans of the comic books will know where his story eventually goes. Bonded with the offspring of Carnage, Pat struggled to control his darker instincts while attempting to do the right thing as a hero.
As time passed, Toxin became increasingly more violent and brutal, and the symbiote eventually passed on to other hosts. There are a lot of places Pat's story can go before that, though, and he seems like a natural fit for Venom's next foe (even if some will feel another symbiote villain is more of the same).
Graham is a terrific actor, and someone with the potential to really let loose with a role like this one. A deranged cop imbued with all of Venom's powers and more would make for quite the threat, and perhaps Eddie's greatest foe before he finally finds himself in the same space as a certain web-slinger.
1. Knull
A primordial God of the void who existed before the universe, Knull was enraged when the Celestials despoiled his Dark Kingdom with the Light. In retaliation, Knull created the symbiotes and used them to wage war against all of existence, but ended up imprisoned by his alien army inside Klyntar.
Venom dropped a lot of hints about the symbiote's time on his home planet, so opening the door to that could make for an epic conclusion to this trilogy. Bringing Knull to Earth could set the stage for a massive symbiote invasion...heck, there's a chance this could even be what brings Venom and Spidey together!
Either way, it would be fun to see Venom's past catch up to him. It all depends on how much Sony wants to embrace the sci-fi side of this character, but this could expand the franchise in untold ways.