By Jasper 
New movies Heretic and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever both debuted strongly this weekend, but neither was able to snatch the box office crown from Venom: The Last Dance, which earned $16.2 million from 3,905 theaters in North America, Variety reported.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, a family-friendly movie that follows the chaotic Herdman siblings as they unexpectedly take over their town’s Christmas pageant, took second spot with $11.1 million from 3,020 locations. However, Variety noted that the figure includes $2.2 million from last week’s one-off sneak preview screening. The movie could certainly pick up momentum as we move into the festive season, propelled by a 98% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a critics’ Tomatometer score of 89%.
Heretic, a horror about two Mormon missionaries who encounter a sinister and psychologically manipulative Englishman named Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), also performed at the higher end of expectations, raking in $11 million from 3,221 venues. Rotten Tomatoes audience rating currently stands at 78%, while the critics are clearly loving it, with the Tomatometer at 93%.
To learn about the story behind the movie, check out Digital Trends’ recent interview with its creators, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods — though it’s probably best to wait until after you’ve watched it.
As we mentioned at the top, it was Venom: The Last Dance that triumphed at the box office for a third successive weekend, taking in $16.2 million from 3,905 North American venues. But its best days are now behind it, as the big-budget action-comedy Red One looks like a surefire bet for success this coming weekend, and the action-epic Gladiator II all but certain to triumph the weekend after that.