'Venom' dances on, again leading N.America box office

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"Venom: the Last Dance," starring Tom Hardy, held tight to the top spot in North American theaters with an estimated weekend haul of $26.1 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday. - Photo credit: GSC/Website

Though it has had a weaker opening than either of its two "Venom" predecessors, it has grossed a respectable $90 million domestically and $227 million internationally in its two weeks out.

LOS ANGELES - "Venom: the Last Dance," starring Tom Hardy as the titular anti-hero, held tight to the top spot in North American theaters with an estimated weekend haul of $26.1 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

Though it has had a weaker opening than either of its two "Venom" predecessors, it has grossed a respectable $90 million domestically and $227 million internationally in its two weeks out.

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Meanwhile the Universal and DreamWorks Animation film "The Wild Robot," a family-friendly yarn about a mechanical creature having to share a remote island with fuzzy animals, actually rose in its sixth weekend out, gaining two spots to second place while taking in $7.6 million.

Paramount's horror film "Smile 2," with Naomi Scott playing a pop star afflicted by a grim curse, slipped slightly to third, with ticket sales estimated at $6.8 million for the post-Halloween Friday-through-Sunday period.

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Also down one spot, to fourth place, was religious thriller "Conclave" from FilmNation, at $5.3 million. Ralph Fiennes, playing a cardinal called on to "manage" the election of a new pope, finds himself caught in a web of unseemly ambition and shadowy intrigue that has drawn Oscar buzz.

But a much-talked-about new film from Miramax and Sony, fantasy drama "Here" from "Forrest Gump" director Robert Zemeckis, performed below analysts' expectations, placing fifth with just $5 million.

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It uses AI technology to "de-age" Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, as part of an ambitious epic, set in a single location, that spans from the dinosaur age to the present.

That was "a weak opening for an original drama," said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

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"To work, this kind of story needs to connect emotionally and powerfully," he said, adding that critics' reviews and audiences' reactions show that this film doesn't.

With a production budget of close to $50 million, the film "release will end in red ink," Gross said.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"We Live in Time" ($3.5 million)

"Terrifier 3" ($3.2 million)

"Singham Again" ($2.1 million)

"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" ($2.1 million)

"Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3" ($2 million) - AFP