NEW YORK — Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man” spinoff “Venom” and Bradley Cooper’s acclaimed remake “A Star Is Born” fueled the best-ever October weekend at North American theatres.
Both films debuted above expectations. “Venom,” starring Tom Hardy as the comic-book antihero, opened with $80.3 million, according to final studio figures Monday.
Sony’s opening effort to create a larger universe for its available Marvel characters shrugged off terrible reviews to set a new box office record for an October debut.
Warner Bros.’s anticipated “A Star Is Born,” starring Cooper and Lady Gaga, also opened resoundingly with $42.9 million.
“Venom” attracted a largely male, younger audience, while “A Star Is Born” found predominantly female and older crowds.
The two films together pushed the weekend to more than $175 million in ticket sales, according to comScore, in the traditionally quieter month of October.
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theatres Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theatre locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by comScore:
1. “Venom,” Sony, $80,255,756, 4,250 locations, $18,884 average, $80,255,756, 1 Week.
2. “A Star Is Born,” Warner Bros., $42,908,051, 3,686 locations, $11,641 average, $44,258,051, 1 Week.
3. “Smallfoot,” Warner Bros., $14,402,559, 4,131 locations, $3,486 average, $42,263,504, 2 Weeks.
4. “Night School,” Universal, $12,514,925, 3,019 locations, $4,145 average, $46,991,280, 2 Weeks.
5. “The House with a Clock in Its Walls,” Universal, $7,332,665, 3,463 locations, $2,117 average, $55,089,225, 3 Weeks.
6. “A Simple Favor,” Lionsgate, $3,424,954, 2,408 locations, $1,422 average, $49,004,310, 4 Weeks.
7. “The Nun,” Warner Bros., $2,703,281, 2,264 locations, $1,194 average, $113,460,591, 5 Weeks.
8. “Crazy Rich Asians,” Warner Bros., $2,166,626, 1,466 locations, $1,478 average, $169,241,568, 8 Weeks.
9. “Hell Fest,” Lionsgate, $2,083,759, 2,297 locations, $907 average, $8,873,235, 2 Weeks.
10. “MET Opera: Aida,” Fathom Events, $1,700,000, 900 locations, $1,889 average, $1,700,000, 1 Week.
11. “The Predator,” 20th Century Fox, $947,358, 1,643 locations, $577 average, $50,033,247, 4 Weeks.
12. “White Boy Rick,” Sony, $603,341, 880 locations, $686 average, $23,351,427, 4 Weeks.
13. “Free Solo,” National Geographic Entertainment, $562,785, 41 locations, $13,726 average, $977,696, 2 Weeks.
14. “The Hate U Give,” 20th Century Fox, $512,035, 36 locations, $14,223 average, $512,035, 1 Week.
15. “Colette,” Bleecker Street, $492,981, 107 locations, $4,607 average, $1,272,741, 3 Weeks.
16. “Peppermint,” STX Entertainment, $473,806, 813 locations, $583 average, $34,717,200, 5 Weeks.
17. “Searching,” Sony, $443,106, 412 locations, $1,076 average, $25,649,766, 7 Weeks.
18. “Disney’s Christopher Robin,” Disney, $435,545, 1,638 locations, $266 average, $98,102,927, 10 Weeks.
19. “The Old Man & the Gun,” Fox Searchlight, $403,928, 49 locations, $8,243 average, $594,383, 2 Weeks.
20. “The Wife,” Sony Pictures Classics, $383,403, 358 locations, $1,071 average, $6,790,237, 8 Weeks.
The Associated Press