#Let There Be Carnage Scores Biggest Box Office Opening Of 2021 So Far

Directed by Andy Serkis, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” stars Tom Hardy as journalist Eddie Brock, and also as the voice of Eddie Brock’s roommate, Venom. Due to the cost of renting in San Francisco, Eddie and Venom have to maximize their apartment space by sharing the same body, and since the events of “Venom” they have settled into a cozy domestic routine. That is upended, however, when a second symbiote called Carnage merges with serial killer Kletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) and starts wreaking havoc on the city.

Despite the third act devolving into the usual CGI superhero battle mess, “Venom” was surprisingly charming and hilarious where it could just have easily gone down the edgy-grimdark route. “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” screenwriter Kelly Marcel and co-writer Tom Hardy leaned into what people loved about the first movie while writing the sequel, and the result is that Serkis has described as a “love story” in the form of a superhero movie. 

18 months into a pandemic the world is plenty grimdark and edgy enough, so “goofy and weird” may be exactly what moviegoers are looking for in their weekend escape to the movies. Then there’s the hype surrounding the end-credits for “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which I won’t spoil here (mainly because I don’t know what it is — the movie doesn’t release here in the U.K. until October 15th).

Based on the trajectory of the first movie, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” is now likely to become the first film to push past the billion dollar mark at the global box office since 2019. It’s also in the running to become the biggest movie release of 2021 — though it’ll face serious competition from upcoming releases “No Time To Die,” “Eternals,” and especially “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

“Venom: Let There Be Carnage is in theaters now.