 Overseas, 'Venom' soars to $125.2 million for a global bow of $205.2 million; revenue in North America hits a record high for the month of October thanks to the combined power of the superhero pic and 'A Star Is Born.' Tom Hardy’s superhero tale “Venom” grabbed $80 million at 4,250 sites for Sony and Marvel while the Lady Gaga-starring remake of “A Star Is Born” earned an estimated $42.6 million at 3,686 locations for Warner Bros. — both well above pre-weekend forecasts. South Korea turned in $16.3 million, followed by Russia with a stellar $13.6 million. Adrian Smith, Sony’s domestic distribution chief, told Variety that the studio was able to overcome downbeat reviews by putting emphasis on “Venom’s” fun factor. Clearly, she can carry a movie, and clearly, Bradley can direct and sing," says Warners distribution chief Jeff Goldstein, adding that the pic's soundtrack, released last week, is No. Once again proving a movie can do heroic business any month of the year, Sony's comic book movie Venom devoured a massive $80 million from 4,250 theaters in its domestic opening, easily the best showing ever for an October title. Warner Bros.’ second weekend of animated entry “Smallfoot” finished third this weekend with $14.4 million at 4,151 venues, followed by Universal’s second session of Kevin Hart-Tiffany Haddish comedy “Night School” with $12.3 million at 3,019 locations. Amblin and Universal's The House With a Clock In its Walls rounded out the top five with $7.3 million in its third weekend for a domestic total of $55.1 million and $87.4 million worldwide. Other highlights of the weekend: Paul Feig and Lionsgate's sleeper hit A Simple Favor ended Sunday with a domestic total of nearly $50 million and $76.4 million globally.
– The surprise combination of Venom and A Star is Born lit up the weekend box office with two strong debuts, Variety reports. The Marvel antihero flick scored $80 million domestically as the well-reviewed remake starring Lady Gaga banked $42 million. Rounding out the top five were Smallfoot ($14 million), Night School ($12 million), and The House With a Clock In its Walls ($7 million), per the Hollywood Reporter. Under the radar, the Blake Lively-Anna Kendrick noirish thriller A Simple Favor remains a sleeper hit at $50 million total, and Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 11/9 fell 80% for a disappointing tally of about $6 million.