Venom: The Last Dance is this weekend’s widest opener, playing at 622 locations for Sony.
This marks the end of the Tom Hardy-led trilogy, and kicks off with Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote on the run in Mexico. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans and Stephen Graham also star, with Kelly Marcel, writer of the first two films, directing.
It is the widest release of the trilogy. The second film, Let There Be Carnage, opened in 596 locations in October 2021 – up by 50 from 2018’s Venom. Venom took £5.6m across its first weekend, while Let There Be Carnage grossed £6.2m.
With Halloween around the corner, psychological horror from the Eggers brothers The Front Room is opening in 266 sites for Universal. A newly-pregnant woman’s life is turned upside down when her husband’s estranged step-mother moves in. Brandy and Kathryn Hunter star.
Warner Bros has Pedro Almodóvar’s English-language feature debut, and Venice Golden Lion winner, The Room Next Door, opening at 233 sites. Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore star as a war journalist and bestselling author, who rekindle their friendship, until one of them makes a request that will test their bond.
In event cinema, Trafalgar Releasing has two films with encore screenings this weekend: Whitney Houston - The Concert For A New South Africa at 116 sites, and Tears For Fears Live at 213 locations.
Mubi has Mati Diop’s Berlinale Golden Bear winner Dahomey at 25 sites, ahead of a Vue circuit-wide release on October 30 to chime with Black History Month, boosting the number of cinemas to 118. Dahomey is Senegal’s entry in the 2025 Oscars international feature race, and tells the story of 26 royal artefacts stolen by French colonial troops in 1892, which were sent from Paris back to what is now the Republic of Benin in 2021. Diop questions how these artefacts should be received in a country that has reinvented itself in their absence.
Netflix has two theatrical releases this weekend – Cannes prize winner and awards contender Emilia Perez (while Netflix declines to reveal details of theatrical releases, it must play in a minimum of 50 sites for Bafta eligibility), which is France’s submission to the Oscar international feature race. The primarily Spanish-language musical follows a Mexican drug-lord that undergoes gender reassignment. Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana. Plus, Netflix has a limited release of Martha, a documentary about American pop culture icon Martha Stewart.
Animated family feature Rebellious, directed by Aleksey Tsitsilin, is being released by Miracle/Dazzler at 252 sites. A young princess defies her father by breaking tradition and choosing her own husband. Another animation out this weekend is Tatsuya Oishi’s Japanese anime film Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp, at one site for Sony.
Also out this weekend is Pottel, at five sites for Dreamz Entertainment – a drama set in a remote village in India, directed by Sahit Mothkhuri.
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) will be showing Kazik Radwanski’s Canadian Berlinale title Matt And Mara, which tells the story of a chance encounter between a creative writing professor in a strained marriage, and a free-spirited author from her past with whom she takes a road trip. Deragh Campbell and Matt Johnson, BlackBerry director and actor, star.
Dogwoof is releasing Sundance documentary Black Box Diaries, which follows Shiori Ito’s investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender, which became a landmark case in Japan.
Re-releases
Park Circus is re-releasing Back To The Future Part II to mark the 35th anniversary, while BFI Distribution is showing Watership Down 4k restoration at 11 sites.
Distributors leaning into horror nostalgia this week include Warner Bros, re-releasing 1984 supernatural slasher A Nightmare On Elm Street at 478 sites, while Moore International Entertainment has a 4k restoration of 1978 classic Halloween.
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