Sony moves Venom: Let There Be Carnage release date again, will hit theaters sooner

Last week, we hypothesized that with the wave of shifting theatrical release dates that Sony might also delay the release date of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. However, keeping us on our toes, Sony has decided to effectively undo its previous shift and will now release the sequel two weeks earlier—on October 1.

In August, Sony pushed the Tom Hardy-led film three weeks back, moving the date from September 24 to October 15 due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in connection with the Delta variant. As Paramount now pushes all of its blockbuster releases into next year, Sony decided that it will be different and speed up Let There Be Carnage’s arrival to theaters.

The shift could have something to do with the recent success of a fellow Marvel superhero film. Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, opened strongly with $90 million coming in over the three-day weekend. Shang-Chi now stands second, behind Marvel’s Black Widow, as the biggest box office opening of the year. It seems like Let There Be Carnage refuses to be outdone by its MCU counterparts, and wants to break box office records just like its 2018 predecessor. However, with the predictability of box office success all over the place this year, there’s no telling if this will work in Sony’s favor.

Andy Serkis’ sequel stars Tom Hardy returning as Eddie Brock/Venom with Woody Harrelson playing serial killer Cletus Kasady (a.k.a. Carnage). The film features Naomie Harris as Shriek, Michelle Williams as Anne Weying, and Stephen Graham as Detective Mulligan. Veep’s Reid Scott also appears in Let There Be Carnage as Dr. Dan Lewis. Just so everything’s clear, Venom: Let There Be Carnage will now hit theaters October 1.