Tom Hardy’s $506M Action Sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Becomes a Major Hit on Its New Streaming Home

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Tom Hardy has a knack for choosing projects that become successful and well-regarded. A prime example is the Venom franchise, which thrived despite challenges and interference from the studio.

It’s strange, considering the movies introduced major characters like Carnage and Knull – a powerful, universe-threatening god connected to all symbiotes – that Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, or Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man never shared a scene with Venom.

And this is despite the fact the latter only exists because of the former.

Despite any criticisms, Tom Hardy successfully made the Venom movies a huge hit, earning a combined $1.8 billion at the box office. Fans loved each film when they came out, and that popularity continues today. Released on January 22nd, the latest installment quickly became one of the top 5 most-watched titles on the streaming platform.

Critics weren’t impressed with the movie, giving it a 58% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, audiences strongly disagreed, awarding it an 83% rating – a pretty big difference! It just goes to show what viewers thought, and it’s worth noting. I was going to mention a comparison, but let’s leave it at that.

Tom Hardy, Tom Holland Should’ve Crossed Paths for Venom

Audiences genuinely connected with Tom Hardy’s portrayal of Eddie Brock, something Topher Grace didn’t quite achieve in his first appearance as Venom in Spider-Man 3. Hardy, especially after becoming involved in the writing process, demonstrated a deep understanding of the complex relationship between Brock and Venom. This understanding was key to the success of Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Venom: The Last Dance, propelling those films to great heights.

Sadly, as the latest film’s title suggests, this will be the last time Hardy plays this character.

The popular and highly-regarded actor announced he was leaving the role, calling his 2024 Marvel movie the end of the story. While, as Hugh Jackman famously said, anything is possible, it’s unlikely Deadpool will appear to persuade Hardy’s Venom to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a fight in Avengers: Doomsday.

It’s disappointing that the initial hint of Venom connecting to the Marvel Cinematic Universe – a small trace of the Black Symbiote from a Doctor Strange portal and a glimpse of Spider-Man on TV – didn’t lead anywhere. However, it’s positive that people are rediscovering how good the Venom movies are now that they’re slowly becoming available on Disney+.

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2026-01-24 20:08