Box Office: ‘Venom’ Inhales Record $10 Million, ‘A Star Is Born’ Shines With $4.6 Million in Previews

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Tom Hardy’s “Venom” earned an impressive $10 million at 3,543 North American locations on Thursday night — the top October preview number of all time.

Lady Gaga’s musical drama “A Star Is Born” launched with a solid $4.6 million in previews, with $3.2 million from Thursday and $1.4 million from sneak showings on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sony’s “,” starring Hardy as a fearsome anithero, is expanding Friday to 4,250 venues, with expectations ranging from $55 million to $70 million for the weekend. It’s likely to become the top October opener, besting the record set in 2013 by Alfonso Cuaron’s “Gravity” with $55.8 million.

The “Venom” previews began at 5 p.m. Sony is hoping “Venom” will launch a shared universe similar to Disney’s successful Marvel franchise. “Zombieland” director Ruben Fleischer helmed the film, which carries a lofty $100 million budget. Hardy portrays Eddie Brock, a journalist bound to the alien entity known as Venom. The cast also includes Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, and Jenny Slate.

Estimates indicates that Warner Bros.’ “” will launch with $28 million to $30 million from 3,686 venues, though tracking shows that number could climb past $40 million, given hype around Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut. It has a much smaller price tag than “Venom,” with a production cost around $36 million.

“A Star Is Born” will likely benefit from glowing word of mouth. It’s already stirring up awards-season buzz following its Venice and Toronto film festival showings. Cooper portrays an alcoholic singer who discovers and falls in love with an up-and-coming artist, played by Gaga in her first leading role.

The Thursday night preview number for “A Star Is Born” in a near-match for “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again,” which grossed $3.4 million on July 19 on its way to an opening weekend of $34.9 million.

“Venom” and “A Star Is Born” are coming into the market on the heels of a solid September, the second best of all time behind only last year’s. Overall domestic business for 2018 has totaled $8.93 billion as of Oct. 3, up 8.1% over last year.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore, said, “The biggest overall weekend in October box office history is potentially in the cards as a perfectly programmed opening lineup boasting Sony’s much-anticipated Marvel entry ‘Venom’ and Warner Bros.’ awards-season favorite and possible Oscar contender ‘A Star Is Born’ will harmonize a boffo box office tune that could ignite the spark for what could become the best performing month of October of all time.”

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