What exactly happened in the superhero movie industry when Sony’s Venom: The Last Dance quickly outsold the MCU at the box office? Amidst high anticipation from Marvel fans hoping to see their own universe continue to dominate, Sony’s film unexpectedly broke records. This surprising storyline may have many people thinking twice: How did Venom do this?
Starting with the MCU’s rise to fame in 2008, when Iron Man paved the way for several billion-dollar cinematic universes, Marvel Studios’ films, including Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home, have all hit the $1 billion mark, and the MCU is undoubtedly the world’s highest-grossing superhero franchise.
However, the unthinkable recently happened when Venom: The Last Dance, the third installment in Sony’s series, clearly outsold the MCU in just two weeks! When we look at the box office, Venom 3 has already grossed over $300 million (according to Box Office Mojo), while the latest MCU film, The Marvels, has grossed less than $200 million (according to Box Office Mojo), which is a surprising difference.
What’s even more surprising is that Venom 3 isn’t particularly special in terms of content or promotion. Instead, it’s been surprisingly well-received by audiences, especially the die-hard fans who love the character of Venom, which began with the first film in 2018 and continued to develop with the second film, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which was released in 2021, and continues to this latest film. Importantly, the film was promoted with the expectation that it would only reach a minimum target, but it has managed to outperform the MCU franchise, which many consider to be the “gold standard” of superhero movies.
So why has Venom outgrossed the MCU so much? One of the most likely answers is “a change of direction.” Venom’s presentation is different from the MCU’s complex structure and heavy focus on interconnected characters and stories, while Venom may not have been anything particularly groundbreaking in terms of content or storytelling. But it presents a simple and accessible tone, allowing the audience to not think too much and just enjoy the familiar characters and exciting fights.
Moreover, the MCU in recent years has started to face many problems, whether it is too much expansion that makes the story start to get messy and lacks continuity, or even choosing new characters that are not widely popular. For example, Eternals or The Marvels, despite having famous actors and interesting stories, have not been received by the audience as they used to be.
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This may be a sign of fatigue for the MCU, which is facing a state of “over-expansion”, while Venom is an example of how the return of familiar characters can still create a good buzz. And when it comes with the right promotion and good release time, Venom 3 can prove that even franchises that are not big names can still reach the top at the box office.
Since Venom: The Last Dance has made more than expected in such a short period of time, it may be an important lesson for a big franchise like the MCU to start thinking about keeping it fresh and not forgetting to listen to the fans about what they want from superhero movies in the present era.
Therefore, the story of Venom 3 is not only outgrossing the MCU, but it is also a warning sign that Even the world’s largest superhero universe may face new and unexpected challenges.
Source: Box Office Mojo
