“First Man” falls to the sophomore weekends of ‘Venom” and “A Star Is Born.”
In its first weekend, Universal’s First Man hit a low note after clocking in at $16.5 million in the domestic box office across 3,640 locations, placing itself directly behind Venom and A Star Is Born.
At the top spot, you’ll find Venom with the Sony flick crossing the $378 million mark globally after pulling in $35.7 million domestically by Warner Bros.’ A Star Is Born follows behind with $28 million. This marks a noteworthy output from both films, now in their second weekend. Venom’s figure is 55.4 percent less than its debut while Star Is Born dropped only 35 percent.
The films, both backed by considerable commercial push, managed to edge out the critically-acclaimed First Man which finds star Ryan Gosling reuniting with La La Land filmmaker Damien Chazelle for a biographical drama surrounding Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon. Originally expected to bring in somewhere between $18-20 million, the film earned a less-than-perfect B+ CinemaScore from audiences.
Globally, First Man reeled in $25.1 million, taking in $8.6 million in 22 markets. Elsewhere in the foreign markets, Venom dominated with $69.7 million in 54 markets, bringing its offshore total to $253.3 million. With First Man leaning toward an audience composed of more adult crowds than space flicks of recent times, a strong awards season may be the saving grace for the weak output exhibited this weekend.