Venom: The Last Dance can redeem Sony’s Spider-Man universe after its last Marvel movie box office bomb. The third movie in the Venom trilogy is one of three Sony Marvel releases in 2024, but the studio has a lot of ground to make up. Madame Web was heavily panned by critics when it was released earlier this year, and subsequently bombed at the box office. Sony’s Spider-Man universe has always been hit or miss, but Madame Web’s lack of success doesn’t bode well for the studio’s future.
Madame Web being a box office bomb was a big blow to the franchise, especially since it followed another commercial failure. Morbius was widely regarded as Sony’s biggest Spider-Man universe flop before the release of Madame Web, so having the two back-to-back is not a good look for the studio. However, if the previous success of the Venom franchise is anything to go off of, Venom: The Last Dance has the potential to redeem the entire Sony Spider-Man franchise.
Madame Web Was Sony’s Biggest Spider-Man Franchise Bomb EVER
Madame Web made $17.6 million in its domestic opening weekend and $100.3 million at the overall worldwide box office. Considering its $80 million production budget, the film severely underperformed. Madame Web has both the lowest domestic opening weekend and worldwide box office numbers for any of Sony’s Spider-Man universe releases going back 22 years. The film was already receiving mixed reception from fans after the initial trailer, which explains the low opening weekend numbers as most people weren’t motivated to check the film out in theaters.
Title
Worldwide Box Office
Spider-Man: No Way Home
$1.9 billion
Spider-Man: Far from Home
$1.1 billion
Spider-Man 3
$895.9 million
Spider-Man: Homecoming
$878.7 million
Venom
$856.1 million
Spider-Man (2002)
$822.7 million
Spider-Man 2
$795.9 million
The Amazing Spider-Man
$758.6 million
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
$709.7 million
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
$681.2 million
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
$501.5 million
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
$375.5 million
Morbius
$162.8 million
Madame Web
$100.3 million
Madame Web actually ended up having a huge social media impact. The trailer alone spawned countless memes due to its awkward script, most notably the infamous Amazon line. The film was not helped at all by its questionable marketing campaign, as lead star Dakota Johnson hinted at dissatisfaction with the project. Online buzz can help a film perform if it catches the attention of the general audience, even if it’s for a bad reason. However, Madame Web’s online fame wasn’t enough to get people into the theater and help out the box office numbers, even as a joke.
Venom 3 Is Sony’s Next Spider-Man Universe Release & Can Help The Franchise Bounce Back
Sony is on a bleak path with the back-to-back releases of Morbius and Madame Web, but the studio’s next release can help them get back on track. Venom: The Last Dance is already getting better reception from just the trailer alone. Since it is the third film in a trilogy, the studio can bank on fans who watched both Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage to buy tickets. Though nothing can be said about the film until it is actually released, the Venom: The Last Dance trailer already promises a higher quality film than Morbius and Madame Web.
Together, Sony’s two Venom movies have grossed $1.357 billion at the worldwide box office.
Venom is Sony’s most profitable Spider-Man universe franchise outside the studio’s Spider-Man titles, so Venom 3 could not come at a more perfect time. Fans hoped that Morbius was a one-off flop, so Madame Web bringing Sony’s Spider-Man universe to a new low was a huge blow for the studio. There is a lot of pressure on Venom: The Last Dance to perform at the box office in order to redeem the franchise’s reputation. Based on the Venom franchise’s previous numbers, Sony hopefully has nothing to worry about.
