Venom smashes Oct box office record with US$80m opening

Los Angeles

SUPERHERO blockbuster Venom saved the day at the North American box office last weekend, pulling in more than US$80 million in ticket sales, industry data showed on Monday.

The film, a Spider-Man spinoff marking the official launch of Sony's Marvel Universe, stars Tom Hardy as a journalist who becomes the host for an alien symbiote that gives him superpowers.

The character is a villain in the Spider-Man comic book world.

Industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said the film took in US$80.3 million.

That was enough to break October's opening weekend record by more than US$20 million, said another industry tracker, Box Office Mojo.

Another new release took second place. Musical romance A Star Is Born earned US$42.9 million over the three-day weekend, Exhibitor Relations said.

The third remake of the 1937 film of the same name, it marks Bradley Cooper's directing debut. He also stars as a musician who discovers and falls in love with a young singer played by pop superstar Lady Gaga.

Third place went to Warner Bros's Smallfoot, with earnings of US$14.4 million in its second weekend. The comic family animation tells the story of a group of Yeti who come across a human, with voicing by Channing Tatum, LeBron James and Danny DeVito.

Coming in fourth was last weekend's champion, Universal's Night School, whose earnings dropped US$15 million to US$12.5 million this weekend.

The raucous comedy stars Kevin Hart as one student in a class of misfits working toward high school diplomas under the firm tutelage of Tiffany Haddish.

Fifth place went to Universal's family-friendly offering The House With a Clock in Its Walls, which slipped from third place last weekend with takings of US$7.3 million.

Rounding out this weekend's top 10 were: A Simple Favor (US$3.4 million), The Nun (US$2.7 million), Crazy Rich Asians (US$2.2 million), Hell Fest (US$2.1 million), and The Predator (US$947,000). AFP