Hollywood: ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ release date moves up two weeks

The carnage is arriving sooner than expected, it seems.

Sony has moved up the release date for ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ two weeks to October 1, from its previous date of October 15.

The move comes on the heels of the strong box office performance of comic book film ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’, from Disney and Marvel Studios. That title, released exclusively in theatres this past weekend, broke Labor Day records with $90 million in a win for the domestic box office.

This success likely helped convince Sony that people are still willing to head to the theaters for the right movies, a decision also bolstered by the fact that the ‘Venom 2’ trailer garnered rave reviews and excitement for the upcoming film.

‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’, directed by Andy Serkis (replacing original ‘Venom’ director Ruben Fleischer), stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, a journalist who has an alien symbiote living within him. Together, they are Venom. Woody Harrelson stars as killer Cletus Kasady, whom he played in the post-credits scene for the first ‘Venom’ (2018). This time around, Harrelson’s Kasady transforms into Carnage, Venom’s chief antagonist in the comics.

The film also stars Michelle Williams, Reid Scott and Naomie Harris.