Venom producer Amy Pascal is speaking out about why the anti-hero movie was such a massive success. The Tom Hardy flick made its way into theaters November of last year and earned over $213 million domestically and $641 million overseas. Venom broke records, becoming the biggest opening weekend ever in the month of October and the second biggest opening in the fall, just behind It from 2017. It was the 13th highest grossing film of 2018, only being surpassed by juggernauts like Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.
Despite being a superhero (or antihero) origin story, Venom’s success was never guaranteed. The only time the character had ever been seen on the big screen was in Spider-Man 3 when he was portrayed by Topher Grace. The portrayal of Venom in the film was hated by moviegoers, and no one knew what to expect going into the new solo film. Now Venom producer, Amy Pascal, is stating why the film was such a success (via Cinema Blend ), and it looks like it was mainly because of one reason: Tom Hardy.
“It’s a couple of things. One of them is that Sony did a great job creating that franchise and giving it a life and giving it its own world. Then there’s Tom Hardy. When you think of Venom, you’ll never be able to think of anyone but Tom Hardy sitting in that bathtub of lobsters. And once you saw Tom Hardy do this character, that’s all you needed to know.”
#Venom producer Amy Pascal confirms sequel with Tom Hardy is happening. https://t.co/CeBzKxnQCa pic.twitter.com/Pbu4oH2dXH
— Screen Rant (@screenrant) June 21, 2019
When news broke that Hardy would be playing Eddie Brock, interest in the film among moviegoers and comic book fans shot through the roof, especially after the catastrophe that was Topher Grace. Hardy is one of the most respected actors in Hollywood and doesn’t have a bad movie under his belt. Hardy is extremely dedicated to his craft and spared no expense when it came to playing Venom.
Hardy’s portrayal as Brock and Venom was so incredible, that a second movie was greenlit with no questions.
“I can say that Tom Hardy will be back, magnificently playing that character as no one else can,” Pascal told Fandango .
Fans are hoping to see a crossover between Hardy’s Venom and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the near future. It has never been completely ruled out, and a crossover film is in the hands of Sony at this point. There could be some sort of confirmation in Spider-Man: Far From Home which premieres next month, and critics have already promised some big surprises in the end credits.