Despite some pretty horrible reviews, many celebrating the fact that the Venom trilogy is now done, Venom: The Last Dance opened in top spot here over the holiday weekend taking $696,628.
Also opening was biopic Lee which, perhaps surprisingly, placed at #2, played 97 screens (2 more than Venom) and took $267,417. Following a modest number of previews, Lee lifted its total take to $277,589.
At #3, The Wild Robot retained some of its school holiday popularity to add $158,781 and pass $2.5 million.
Aussie fam-friendly flick Runt also rediscovered its school holiday, climbing back up the charts from #12 to #7. Its weekend take of $33,101 pushed it close to half a million, which it should pass by the end of the coming weekend.
Of the local titles on release, A Mistake was the highest-placed at #20. Playing 49 screens, it added $5,745 to reach $106,327.
The remaining three locals are all very close to the ends of their runs, and none took more than $1000.
Ka Whawhai Tonu – Struggle Without End now has a gross of $889,037; Bookworm has $465,631; and We Were Dangerous $569,400.
Openers this week include Here, a reunion for the director, writer, and stars of Forrest Gump. Robert Zemeckis directs Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in an adaptation of Richard McGuire’s graphic novel. Like Venom, Here has been on the receiving end of critical vitriol in the territories it’s opened in so far.
Also arriving is Ryan Coonan’s The Red, featuring outback Australia and a giant zombie kangaroo.
As always, huge thanks to Numero for the data that powers our box office reports.
