These two new movies could topple Venom at weekend box office

Two new movies are likely to perform well this weekend: Psychological horror Heretic and comedy-drama The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. But Venom: The Last Dance looks set to retain the top spot on its third weekend of release, according to a forecast by Boxoffice Pro.

It could be close, though, with both Heretic (Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East) and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Kynlee Heiman, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez, Judy Greer) potentially springing a surprise to win the upcoming weekend at the North American box office.

Superhero action-adventure Venom: The Last Dance is forecast to rake in between $12 million and $16 million this weekend, while both Heretic and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever are each expected to earn between $8 million and $12 million.

“Like Civil War earlier this year, [production company] A24 is gifting Heretic with a wide release,” Boxoffice Pro commented. “That sign of confidence in the title is backed up with a 93% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, which will only spurn more interest in this original film. Civil War wound up being A24’s second-highest grosser ever at $68.7 million, and Heretic arguably has similar breakout potential to the point that a massive enough drop for Venom could see this one slip neatly into the top spot.”

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, based on Barbara Robinson’s classic 1972 children’s book, is picking up some positive early reviews and currently scores 85% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer.

Looking ahead, the big budget action-comedy Red One is set to sweep Venom aside when it debuts next week, with action-epic Gladiator II bulldozing the competition the following week.