Columbia Pictures has been given theatrical release in China for “Venom: The Last Dance” on October 23, 2024.
This date coincides with the film's release in other international territories, and comes two days before its North American release.
All foreign films seeking to enter China are subject to import controls and censorship. Most films are distributed through state-owned release companies and must handle these films. Films may also be edited to make them suitable for audiences of all ages, a legal requirement in China.
While these controls have sometimes hampered the flow of Hollywood studio films into China, authorities are doing little to prevent the widespread exploitation of top titles. “Alien: Romulus,” which opened in China on a specific day and date, has already grossed $101 million at the Chinese box office, a total that exceeds the film’s North American haul.
Venom, the first film in the three-film series, grossed a massive $262 million upon its release in China in late 2018. This was also higher than the $212 million Venom grossed in the North American market and represented nearly a third of the film's total worldwide revenue.
The sequel to the movie “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” was initially scheduled to be released in 2021 in China, but with the country under various restrictions due to the coronavirus, the movie was not released.
“Venom: The Last Dance” is expected to benefit from the roughly six-week promotional window between greenlighting and its theatrical release, but it’s unclear whether the removal of “Venom: Let the Carnage Be” has dampened Chinese audiences’ appetite for the film.
The original Venom movie had Tencent Pictures as an investor and producer, a significant element that Venom: The Last Dance does not have. Tencent operates China’s largest social media platform, the largest video and music streaming platforms, and the world’s largest gaming company by revenue.
According to an official synopsis provided by Columbia Pictures, “In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters, in the final film of the trilogy. Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by their respective worlds and with the web closing in, the duo is forced to make a devastating decision that will bring down the curtain on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.”
Venom: The Last Dance stars Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lou, Alana Ubach, and Stephen Graham. The film is directed by Kelly Marcel, from a screenplay written by her, based on a story by Hardy and Marcel. The film is based on the Marvel Comics, and is produced by Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal, Kelly Marcel, Tom Hardy, and Hutch Parker. The executive producer is Joe Caracciolo Jr.
