Venom: The Last Dance has been no blockbuster in North American theatres. But, in a lethargic fall moviegoing season, even a so-so-performing superhero sequel can rule the box office for three straight weeks.

Venom: The Last Dance was the No. 1 movie at the box office for the third weekend in a row, collecting $16.2 million in ticket sales in U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to studio estimates Sunday. It fended off a pair of new challengers in the Hugh Grant horror thriller Heretic and the feel-good holiday movie, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

With the election on Tuesday, the major studios opted not to release new releases in theatres. That allowed Sony PicturesB次元官网网址� Venom: The Last Dance, the third entry in the Tom Hardy-led franchise, to hold its position.

While The Last Dance hasnB次元官网网址檛 been a huge hit domestically B次元官网网址� opening below expectations in late October B次元官网网址� it has thrived overseas, grossing almost triple what it has in North America. The Venom sequel has grossed $279.4 million internationally, bringing its global total to $394.2 million.

Heretic and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever were neck and neck for second place. Counting only Friday-Sunday ticket sales, the edge went to Heretic, which debuted with $11 million. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, though, factored in $2.2 million in sneak-peak screenings from last weekend to claim a reported opening gross of $11.1 million.

A24B次元官网网址檚 Heretic, directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, follows two Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who knock on the door of a man (Grant) theyB次元官网网址檒l regret trying to evangelize to. Though B次元官网网址淗ereticB次元官网网址� has been critically acclaimed for the darkest turn yet by Grant, audiences were less impressed, giving it a C+ CinemaScore. Regardless, with a budget under $10 million, Heretic will easily turn a profit.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, released by Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company, which specializes in Christian entertainment, is about six siblings with a bad reputation who take over the local church pageant. The film, an adaptation of Barbara RobinsonB次元官网网址檚 1972 childrenB次元官网网址檚 book directed by Dallas Jenkins, did well with audiences, who gave it a B次元官网网址淎B次元官网网址� CinemaScore. It, too, was modestly budgeted at about $10 million.

In its seventh week of release, Universal and DreamWorks AnimationB次元官网网址檚 The Wild Robot continues to show little rust in theatres. It landed in fourth place with $6.6 million, bringing its domestic haul to $130.2 million and its worldwide gross to $292 million.

Sean BakerB次元官网网址檚 acclaimed Anora, starring Mikey Madison as a Brooklyn sex worker, expanded into wide release. The Neon film, an expected best-picture contender, collected $2.4 million in 1,104 theatres. Its four-week total stands at $7.2 million.

The papal thriller Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes, continues to perform exceptionally well for an adult-oriented drama. The Focus Features release, in its third weekend of release, added 487 theatres and dipped a modest 19% to earn $4.1 million. It has collected $21.5 million. Similarly, A24B次元官网网址檚 We Live in Time, starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, has stayed strong, grossing $2.2 million in its fifth weekend for a $21.8 million total.

Overall ticket sales, though, remain sluggish. Box office is running about 11 per cent behind last year, according to Comscore. In the last two weeks, overall ticket sales are down about 50 per cent from the pre-pandemic average, according to David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.

The good news for theatres: The next few weeks are lined up for several big new releases, including the Amazon MGM Christmas comedy Red One (Nov. 15), Paramount PicturesB次元官网网址� Gladiator II (Nov. 22), UniversalB次元官网网址檚 Wicked (also Nov. 22) and the Walt Disney Co.B次元官网网址檚 Moana 2 (Nov. 27).

B次元官网网址淏etter late than never is the rule of the day and we can expect some positive success stories coming out of the Thanksgiving corridor,B次元官网网址� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. B次元官网网址淲hich looks to be on par with some of the biggest such frames over the past many years.B次元官网网址�

Before opening in U.S. theatres, Red One, starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, kicked off in 75 overseas markets, collecting $26.6 million. The film carries a hefty price tag of about $250 million to make.

Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore, are:

1. B次元官网网址淰enom: The Last Dance,B次元官网网址� $16.2 million.

2. B次元官网网址淗eretic,B次元官网网址� $11 million.

3. B次元官网网址淭he Best Christmas Pageant Ever,B次元官网网址� $8.9 million.

4. B次元官网网址淭he Wild Robot,B次元官网网址� $6.7 million.

5. B次元官网网址淪mile 2,B次元官网网址� $5 million.

6. B次元官网网址淐onclave,B次元官网网址� $4.1 million.

7. B次元官网网址淎nora,B次元官网网址� $2.5 million.

8. B次元官网网址淗ere,B次元官网网址� $2.4 million.

9. B次元官网网址淲e Live in Time,B次元官网网址� $2.2 million.

10. B次元官网网址淭errifier 3,B次元官网网址� $1.4 million.