I sat down to write my stupid little articles on my stupid little website last night, and as I was scrolling Twitter, I couldn’t help but notice that “Venom 2” was trending worldwide. For the life of me, I couldn’t imagine what on Earth could be causing this, as Venom: Let There Be Carnage hit theaters last October, and has been out on home release forever. So, when I clicked that fateful hashtag, my mind was blown to see that the head honchos at Sony had seemingly out of nowhere just up and claimed that the second installment of the Venom franchise deserved some credit for paving the way for Top Gun: Maverick‘s success at the box office. Wut.
As Panitch and Greenstein see it, Sony Pictures was one of the first studios to bring audiences back to the theater in mass during the pandemic. The studio opened “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” in October 2021 to a $90 million debut ($10 million more than the original “Venom” opened to in non-pandemic times) and a $506 million total worldwide
So, the issue here is with all of us dickhead writers absolutely gushing about how Top Gun: Maverick has singlehandedly saved the entire movie industry and the movie-going experience all in one release. I get it – it’s one of those things where everyone says it’s so good and so awesome that it really can’t be that good and that awesome, right? The key line here though is “as Panitch and Greenstein see it,” ’cause folks, I just have a hard time imagining there are many people out there who also see it that way. This isn’t to rain down on the Venom sequel either – I didn’t think it was all that bad. I had my fun with it.
But, my issue is Greenstein saying that there weren’t any other big movies released when Sony released Venom 2. OF COURSE the same person saying that Venom 2 jolted the box office back to life is ticked off that people are talking about Top Gun: Maverick saving the box office. I’m just imagining Josh here sitting at his desk, FUMING, reading all of these headlines about the magic that Top Gun has restored to American, clinching his teeth, ramming his fist into his desk and saying, “they SHOULD be writing about VENOM 2!”
But, really? Is this the hill we’re going to die on? Venom 2? I guess we forgot about the Fast and the Furious movie that came out earlier that summer and got people back to the movies. I guess we forgot about Black Widow. Or, hell – we must really have some short term memory issues because Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings came out just a month before Venom 2, and *checks notes* made more money. Personally, I’d say it was Unhinged. But, that’s neither here nor there. I can understand having pride in one’s work, but I’m beginning to think that maybe Venom has attached itself to Josh Greenstein’s body.
I’m sure all of this is really nothing, but it was super fun to write about and I think it’s hilarious, so even if it was meant to be a little tongue-in-cheek, I’m going to take it incredibly seriously because this is the internet. That’s show biz, baby.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
Check out the SoBros Shop. Become a Patron. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.
