‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Delayed Again

When the new Venom: Let There Be Carnage trailer premiered a few days ago, it didn’t say “Opening September 24” that probably should have been a clue that the film was not going to open on September 24. Sure enough, Venom has been pushed back yet again.

At least for now, it’s only a brief delay. The film’s new release date is October 15. If that date holds, that means the sequel will now compete at the box office with the new Halloween sequel, Halloween Kills, and Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel starring Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, and Ben Affleck. Of course, any of these movies could could get delayed, including Venom: Let There Be Carnage. 

Sony pushed the film back slightly as Covid-19 cases have risen dramatically around the country. At the same time, consumer confidence in the safety of movie theaters has dropped. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “consumer confidence has plummeted from a pandemic-era high of 81 percent on July 11 to 66 percent as of Monday, according to those with access to polling from the National Research Group.” Supposedly anything “below 70 percent can be worrisome.”

Hopefully things improve enough for Venom and all those other movies to open in theaters in October. If you’ve paid attention to the world in the last 18 months, you’re probably not super confident that will happen. In case you missed it, here is that new Venom trailer:

Venom 2 was originally scheduled for release in October of 2020. It was initially postponed to June of 2021 — a date that actually might have been better for its box office chances — and then postponed again to September. Now it’s settled in October. Cross your fingers and symbiote tentacles that it actually comes out then.