The Big Picture
- A Haunting in Venice is approaching a global box office milestone, despite an underwhelming commercial performance.
- The film has grossed over $89 million worldwide, with its biggest foreign markets being the UK, Italy, China, France, and Spain.
- While the movie has received better critical reception compared to its predecessors, its success in the home video market will determine the possibility of a fourth Poirot film.
After just over half a month in theaters worldwide, director-star Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice — his third Agatha Christie adaptation — is nearing a hefty milestone at the global box office. While the film’s commercial performance has been mostly underwhelming, it’s currently tracking to conclude its theatrical run with over $100 million worldwide, which should soften any potential blows.
This past weekend — its third — the film added $3.8 million domestically, taking its running total to just over $31 million. A Haunting in Venice has also grossed $58 million from overseas markets, for a cumulative global total of $89 million. The film’s biggest foreign markets are the U.K. ($6 million), Italy ($5.3 million), China ($4.9 million), France ($3.2 million) and Spain ($2.4 million). It makes sense for the movie to have done relatively well in Europe, considering that’s where Christie’s novels are the most well known.
A Haunting in Venice debuted with an underwhelming $14 million domestically, which it followed up with $6 million in its second weekend. By now, it’s clear that domestic audiences aren’t all that interested in this series, which has been on a consistent downward spiral after the surprise success of Murder on the Orient Express. Released in 2017, the film introduced Branagh’s version of the famed fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and grossed more than $100 million stateside and over $350 million globally.
Will Kenneth Branagh Get to Do a Fourth Poirot Movie?
Last year’s sequel Death on the Nile concluded its domestic run with only $40 million, and wasn’t able to crack $140 million worldwide. The movie was produced on a budget of around $100 million, which further dampened its box office performance. Perhaps in an effort to mitigate risks, 20th Century Studios slashed the budget to around $60 million for A Haunting in Venice, which stands apart from its two predecessors in many other ways. First, it’s based on a less-popular novel; second, it doesn’t have as starry a cast; and third, it’s more of a horror-thriller than an old-fashioned murder mystery.
Critical reception has also been kinder than before. A Haunting in Venice sits at a “fresh” 76% score on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, as compared to the 60% and 61% scores that Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile earned, respectively. Collider’s Emma Kiely wrote in her review, “Branagh, whether you adore him or avoid his movies as much as possible, knows how to entertain a crowd.”
As things stand, the movie will have to count on finding its audience when it hits the home video market, and that, perhaps, will determine whether fans get another one of these. A Haunting in Venice also stars Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio, and Michelle Yeoh.
