Sony Pictures
EXCLUSIVE: Sonys Venom took a big bite out of October when it bowed to a $205.2M global opening earlier this month. Now, its passed $300M at the international box office and is chomping at the bit to hit $500M worldwide this weekend. The current breakdown through Wednesday is $302.5M internationally, $175.3M domestic and $477.8M global. And, it still has Japan and China on deck, meaning it should push well past $600M after they come online.
The Tom Hardy-starrer based on the Marvel property has defied a critical bashing as audiences have licked it up, enjoying the tone and the character. Venom set a domestic and global October opening record in its early play, and on its second weekend, pushed Sony across $1B at the North American box office. Offshore, it continued to be the lead film for three weekends straight.
Korea, which loves its Marvel, is the No. 1 market overseas at $28.9M, followed by Russia ($28.8M), the UK ($22.5M), Mexico ($21.7M) and Brazil ($15.8M). Those figures are through Tuesday.
Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Venom is currently the lucky No. 13 film of the year so far worldwide. Depending on how China performs when the film opens there November 9, it could surpass Ant-Man And The Wasp and Deadpool 2 internationally. It is not yet clear if Hardy is making a trip to Beijing.
When the movie first came out, Sonys President of International Distribution Steven ODell told me anecdotally that hed been hearing from overseas exhibitors that their kids were going to school in the Venom costume and that there was “a lot more love than people were aware of beyond (the core) fans. It went beyond other standalones and the ones with sequels.” He called it a “win for everyone involved.”
As part of the overseas campaign, Hardy participated in Brazil Comic-Con with a live Skype from the Atlanta set of Venom and was on Fantastico, Brazils top-rated TV show. In London, he drove the host of Stars In Cars, Germanys version of Carpool Karaoke, around town. In France, he took part in TF1s Saturday evening entertainment show 50 Minutes Inside while also attending a fan event in Russia.
For their international digital campaign, the Sony folks partnered with Talenthouse for a global fan art program. Artists, designers and illustrators from around the world were invited to create one-of-a-kind artwork for Venom. Thousands of entries came in, the highest number of submissions in Talenthouse history. Hardy selected five pieces of art and one of the artists was invited to meet the cast and attend the Los Angeles premiere.
[contf] [contfnew] 
Deadline
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
