Venom and Let There Be Carnage are both big box office hits, despite low Rotten Tomatoes scores, unlike the MCU-produced Marvel movies.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage‘s Rotten Tomatoes score shows how little impact critical reviews can have the box office. Let There Be Carnage‘s Rotten Tomatoes 59% score is a big improvement from the first Venom‘s 30%, but both are still rated “Rotten.” Even so, the original was a box office smash hit, and Let There Be Carnage is even bigger (in the post-pandemic box office, no less), proving low Tomatometer scores have less impact on a movie’s financial performance than generally accepted sentiment would suggest.
The MCU’s streak of unparalleled success in both the box office and Rotten Tomatoes gives the impression of correlation and causation, with many naturally assuming box office and Rotten Tomatoes go hand-in-hand, but it’s clear the answer is a bit more complicated. Venom certainly isn’t the first time a counter-example has been provided, but the franchise’s repeated success and Venom‘s ancillary Marvel connection provide an interesting counterpoint.
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