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VENOM Might Be Projected To Shatter Box Office Records, But Did Sony Make The Right Call?

As of now, Sony’s Venom is projected to shatter October’s box office records with a $65-$85 million  opening weekend (Source: BoxOfficePro). One must remember since Venom still has less than two months to go before it hits theaters, the numbers will most definitely change. Most likely in Sony’s favor. This may sound great, but the real test is when the reviews hit the internet. If this movie can garner favorable reviews, then Venom‘s staying power could make this a much needed win for Sony. We’ll have to wait and see.

The bigger question you should be asking yourself: Are you happy that it’s going to be rated PG-13? Also, by the look of an earlier trailer, there was no doubt that Sony was aiming for an R-rating, and as a writer, one must think of the ramifications this could possibly have on the final product. Changing things at the last minute could be a recipe for disaster.

But also having a brain, it’s hard to argue with Sony’s decision. This gives Venom a chance to maybe one day transition over to Marvel Studios, as well as being in Sony’s other Marvel movies. The only counter-argument is that Sony could’ve had the Eddie Brock Venom movies be as violent and gory as possible, and then have Agent Venom be in the more kid-friendlier films. We all saw how well being as comic accurate as possible worked out for Deadpool.

After a few missteps it’s hard to have faith in Sony, but lately, they have made some smart decisions, like using Miles Morales in the upcoming animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, along with Spider-Gwen and an older Peter Parker. All things we’ve never seen before in a Spider-Man movie. This movie should do extremely well both critically and financially. This is another strong argument that we should give them the benefit of the doubt regarding Venom.

But still, what if Venom fails because they put a different movie together in the last minute instead of sticking with the original version, which probably had at least a year’s worth of planning. It’s something that will most likely stick to the back of your minds as you watch Venom for the first time.  And yes, the movie is tracking incredibly well, but just look at Batman v Superman as an example of how fast things can go downhill with a lukewarm critical reception. Should Sony have stuck with their original guns, and made it R-rated? Then use Agent Venom in PG-13 movies? Only time will tell. Please let me know your thoughts down in the comments section.