A contingent of Lady Gagas fans has set its sights on a new enemy: Venom, the upcoming comic-book movie starring Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams. Why this movie, and not, say, Madonna for the millionth time, you ask? Because Lady Gaga is in her thespian zone right now, and her big-screen debut—Bradley Coopers visceral, booze-soaked remake of A Star Is Born—is coming out the same day as Sonys dark superhero movie. Weve got a box office war on our hands, people.
Per BuzzFeed, now that the embargo for critics to share their thoughts on the Marvel movie has finally broken, some fans have noticed a flurry of negative Venom reviews popping up on Twitter, suspiciously parroting the same nay-saying talking points. One tweet that appeared to be copied and pasted by several accounts read: “i am the biggest marvel fan but I just watched #Venom and I dont know what to say. Easily the worst movie this year. I expected so much better and now Im just disappointed.” Bots were afoot, it seemed. When BuzzFeed reached out to one of the accounts (the owner only identified themselves as @LGMonster95), the user claimed Gaga fans were purposely creating throwaway accounts in an attempt to create bad word of mouth for Venom. “Its us Gaga fans creating fake ids to trash Venom premiere,” the user said. “They both are getting released on the same day so we want more audience for A Star Is Born.”
So, what are critics actually saying about Venom? Well, most of those who have spoken so far agree that the film is not particularly good, but it is interesting—so long as viewers dont take it too seriously. Hardy himself earned a fair bit of praise, as did the post-credits scene. So, theres that!
A Star Is Born, meanwhile, has already emerged as an Oscar frontrunner, with Cooper earning potential best director and actor buzz. Gaga has also been praised for her cinematic maiden voyage, playing a down and out singer on the verge of stardom. In his review, Vanity Fair critic Richard Lawson wrote that A Star Is Born “achieves a triumphant, romantic ache that is often just what we want to experience at the movies.” It doesnt suck, folks!
In the long run, A Star Is Born seems like the movie thats going to earn the sort of juicy prestige a comic-book movie just cant buy. However—Gaga fans, dont read this next part—it appears that Venom is going to win the opening weekend box-office race regardless. Per Variety, the film is on track to earn $60-65 million in its debut, while A Star Is Born is on track to earn $28 to $30 million. Even if it comes in second place, thats still a robust opening for an R-rated musical drama. And if thats not enough, a coupla golden statuettes are probably on the way to fill that void.
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Yohana DestaYohana Desta is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
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