Marvel’s Eternals took a solid $30.7 million on Friday for an estimated weekend haul of $69.5 million. Directed by Chloé Zhao, Eternals delivered the fifth-highest debut of the pandemic, in a top five that includes two other Marvel movies — Black Widow ($80.3 million) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($75.3 million) — and the Marvel-adjacent Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($90 million). The only non-superhero movie in the top five is F9, which opened to $70 million in June.
An ambitious introduction to what’s in store for fans in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Eternals tells a story spanning 7,000 years, and features an all-star ensemble that includes Gemma Chan, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Richard Madden and Kit Harington.
Somewhat worryingly, however, the film registered the MCU’s worst CinemaScore, a “B” — audience reception that reflects what critics felt about it. Eternals also has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of the MCU, a “rotten” 49%. None of this bodes well for the film’s box office prospects, especially after the rickety start.
At the number two spot was director Denis Villeneuve’s sprawling science-fiction epic Dune, which added an estimated $2.2 million in its third Friday for a running domestic total of $83.4 million. Dune, an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, registered the biggest debut for a Warner Bros. title that also got a day-and-date streaming release on HBO Max. Encouraged by the strong numbers at the box office and online, WB gave the green light to the long-speculated sequel, which is now set for an October 2023 release. Internationally, Dune has grossed more than $300 million, against a reported $165 million budget.
Daniel Craig’s fifth and final film as the iconic British spy James Bond, No Time to Die, came in at the number three spot this weekend, with an estimated $5.7 million. As expected, the Cary Joji Fukunaga-directed film is holding well (it dropped by just 25%) after older audiences failed to turn up in its opening weekend. The film has made nearly $150 million domestically. Worldwide, No Time to Die has topped $600 million, and although that’s about half as much as what Skyfall — the top-grossing Craig Bond — finished its run with, it has now eclipsed the lifetime totals of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
Venom 2, directed by Andy Serkis and starring Tom Hardy as the Marvel antihero, inched closer to the $200 million mark domestically, with an estimated $4.1 million this weekend. Only one other film has crossed the $200 million mark this year — Shang-Chi ($223 million). Internationally, Venom 2’s total currently stands at less than half of what the original 2018 film tapped out with, but the sequel is yet to get the all-important China release. The original film made nearly $300 million in the Middle Kingdom.
Rounding out the top five was Ron’s Gone Wrong, which added an estimated $2.8 million for a running domestic total of over $17 million. Inherited by Disney in its takeover of 20th Century Fox, the animated film features the voices of Jack Dylan Grazer, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms.
Eternals now has a mostly clear path at the box office until Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife arrives in theaters on November 19. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates!