Summary
Venom: The Last Dance’s Rotten Tomatoes score has been unveiled, and Tom Hardy’s final bow as Eddie Brock continues a negative trend for Sony’sSpider-ManUniverse franchise.
Venom: The Last Danceis the closing chapter of a trilogy that includes the first film and its sequel,Let There Be Carnage. Both films were maligned by critics, earning Rotten Tomatoes scores of 30% and 57%, respectively. This would become a common response to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe franchise, withMorbiusandMadame Webreceiving dismal Rotten Tomatoes scoresas well (15% forMorbiusand 11% forMadame Web).Venom 3reviews have been published, and the third installment of the symbiote’s franchise has fared no better with critics than its contemporaries.
Venom: The Last Dance 37% On Rotten Tomatoes
As of this writing,Venom: The Last Dance’sRotten Tomatoesscore is 37% based on 76 reviews. “Critics say if you didn’t love the first two ‘Venom’ movies, you probably won’t like this one either, but for fans, it’s a satisfying swan song for Tom Hardy and his symbiote BF,” writes RT’sChristopher Campbell.Venom 3’s final Rotten Tomatoes score may improve as more reviews come in, but even if it fails to become “Certified Fresh,” it may not matter.
TheVenommovies have proven themselves critic-proof. The firstVenomfilm andLet There Be Carnagewere box office hits, grossing a respective $856.1 million and $506.9 million worldwide against relatively modest budgets. WhileVenom: Let There Be Carnagegrossed less than its predecessor, it was released as the world was climbing out of the COVID-19 pandemic and audiences were just getting used to attending theaters again. The success ofVenomandLet There Be Carnagewas undoubtedly fueled by the fan responses, which were decidedly more positive than critics' reviews.
Venom Threequel Reception Adds Salt to the Wound of Sony’s Spider-Man Villain Universe
However, unlike theVenomfilms, the other Sony Spider-Man Universe movies have not defied critics by obtaining financial success.MorbiusandMadame Webwere box office bombs, adding salt to the wound inflicted by predominantly negative reviews.Morbiushas the dishonor of failing twice, bombing again after Sony re-released it in theaters, seemingly misreading the internet memes mocking the film as genuine admiration.
Venom 3may avoid box office catastrophe, but comic book movie sequels have recently failed to reach the same success as their predecessors.Aquaman 2,Shazam 2,Captain Marvel 2, andJoker 2grossed far lessthan the first installment of each franchise despite being sequels to successful films. So, it wouldn’t be unthinkable forVenom 3to continue this trend of box office duds for Sony’s Spider-Man universe, but perhaps the symbiote is popular enough to once again defy critics and beat back ‘superhero fatigue.’
Venom: The Last Dancewill be released in theaters on July 21, 2025.
Venom: The Last Dance
Venom 3 is the third and final installment in Sony’s symbiote trilogy starring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock. It follows the events of Let There Be Carnage, where the anti-hero fought serial killer Cletus Kasady, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, where Brock was briefly transported to the MCU through the multiverse.
