“Venom: The Last Dance” seems to have stumbled and face-planted on its way to box office glory.
This third movie in the saga of Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his sassy alien sidekick, Venom, made $51 million in its U.S. debut—solid, but it’s no crowd-cheering slam dunk. Despite its first-place opening weekend, “Last Dance” is lagging behind its beefier older siblings and joining the ranks of comic book movies that seem to be missing the heroic box-office punch. Sony’s Marvel movies just can’t seem to get the crowd hyped, and predicting their success these days feels as reliable as a coin toss. Sure, “Last Dance” could still get a lift globally, but here in the U.S., it’s gasping for air compared to its predecessors. For context, the first “Venom” movie in 2018 scored an $80 million weekend, and the sequel, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” in 2021, chomped through $90 million on opening weekend. “Last Dance” was expected to do about $65 million, but, well, not even close. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher, given Venom’s popularity. Once Spider-Man’s pesky foe, this alien symbiote has beco...