The unlikely dynamic duo of “Venom” and “A Star Is Born” have livened up the fall moviegoing season with the best October weekend of all time in North America. 
 
 Tom Hardy’s superhero tale “Venom” grabbed $80 million at 4,250 sites for Sony and Marvel while the Lady Gaga-starring remake of “A Star Is Born” earned an estimated $42.6 million at 3,686 locations for Warner Bros. — both well above pre-weekend forecasts. “Venom” smashed the record for an October opening, topping the $55.8 million launch of “Gravity” by 43%. 
 
 “Venom” also dominated at the international box office with $125.2 million, setting an international record for an October opening. South Korea led the way with $16.3 million. 
 
 “Venom” and the critically acclaimed “A Star Is Born” were both able to draw effectively from beyond their core audiences. The strong domestic openings pushed the weekend’s total business to about $174 million, or 15% above the prior mark of $151.5 million set in 2015 when Matt Damon’s “The Martian” opened, according to comScore. 
 
 Adrian Smith, Sony’s domestic distribution chief, told Variety that the studio was able to overcome downbeat reviews by putting emphasis on “Venom’s” fun factor. “The idea was always to make a film that all audiences could enjoy,” he added. 
 
 Related Watch Lady Gaga's Full Emotional Speech at the National Board of Review Gala 'Mary Poppins Returns,' 'A Wrinkle in Time,' 'Star Trek: Discovery' Among Costume Designers Guild Nominees 
 
 Sony is hoping “Venom” will launch a shared universe similar to Disney’s lucrative superhero franchise. “Zombieland” director Ruben Fleischer helmed the film, which carries a $100 million budget. Hardy portrays Eddie Brock, a journalist bound to the alien entity known as Venom. 
 
 The fourth iteration of “A Star Is Born,” directed by Bradley Cooper, arrived in theaters amid a wave of positive buzz and an awards campaign that’s gained traction since its debut at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 5. The release of the soundtrack album on Friday added to the film’s drawing power, according to Warner’s domestic distribution head Jeff Goldstein. 
 
 “This is a movie that will be around for months,” Goldstein added. “There’s a lot of room for growth, particularly among younger audiences.” 
 
 Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore, credited Sony and Warner Bros. with savvy scheduling and noted that “Venom” is yet another success for Marvel. 
 
 “A box office star is born as October sings a glorious tune the likes of which the industry has never heard before for the oft overlooked month, as a perfect harmony of superhero blockbuster and Oscar bound musical create one of the most perfectly orchestrated movie weekends at the multiplex in recent memory,” he added. “And the Marvel brand is just unstoppable.” 
 
 The weekend lifted the overall domestic total for 2018 to $9.11 billion as of Sunday, up 9.2% over the same point last year, according to comScore. Universal’s “First Man,” Fox’s “Bad Times at the El Royale” and Sony’s “Goosebumps 2” are the major openers next weekend. Universal’s “Halloween” is expected to do strong business of at least $50 million when it opens on Oct. 19. 
 
 Warner Bros.’ second weekend of animated entry “Smallfoot” finished third this weekend with $14.4 million at 4,151 venues, followed by Universal’s second session of Kevin Hart-Tiffany Haddish comedy “Night School” with $12.3 million at 3,019 locations. Amblin-Universal’s “The House With a Clock in Its Walls” finished fifth with $7.3 million in its third weekend for a domestic total of $55.1 million and $87.4 million worldwide. 
 
 Lionsgate’s fourth weekend of Anna Kendrick’s comic thriller “A Simple Favor” came in sixth with $3.4 million to take its 24-day domestic total to $49 million. Warner’s fifth weekend of horror-thriller “The Nun” followed in seventh with $2.6 million to push its 31-day take to $113 million. 
 
 Lionsgate-CBS Films’ second weekend of “Hell Fest” was battling for eighth place with Warner’s eighth weekend of “Crazy Rich Asians” with $2.1 million each. “Asians” has hit $169 million and is 2018’s 10th biggest domestic grosser. 
 
 Rounding out the top 10 was Fox’s fourth weekend of “The Predator” with $900,000, giving the sci-fier $50 million in 24 days. Studio 8-Sony’s “White Boy Rick” followed in 11th with $575,000 in its fourth frame to reach $29 million domestically. 
 
 National Geographic’s second weekend of rock climbing documentary “Free Solo” finished 12th with $540,000 at only 41 sites, followed by Fox’s debut of teen drama “The Hate U Give” with $500,000 at 36 locations. “The Hate” will go wide on Oct. 19. 
 
 RELATED: ||||| Overseas, 'Venom' soars to $125.2 million for a global bow of $205.2 million; revenue in North America hits a record high for the month of October thanks to the combined power of the superhero pic and 'A Star Is Born.' 
 
 Once again proving a movie can do heroic business any month of the year, Sony's comic book movie Venom devoured a massive $80 million from 4,250 theaters in its domestic opening, easily the best showing ever for an October title. 
 
 Overseas, Venom, starring Tom Hardy as the Marvel antihero, soared to $125.2 million from 58 markets for a global bow of $205.2 million, also an October best. South Korea turned in $16.3 million, followed by Russia with a stellar $13.6 million. 
 
 In a second victory, Warner Bros.' critical darling A Star Is Born likewise came in ahead of expectations, collecting $42.6 million domestically from 3,686 cinemas. Offshore, the music-infused romantic drama started off with a more modest $14 million from its first 31 territories for a worldwide launch of $56.6 million. The U.K. led with $5.3 million. 
 
 The combined power of the two very different movies drove total North American revenue to an all-time high of roughly $174 million for the month of October. And, until now, the top October opening had belonged to Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, which blasted off with $55.7 million in 2013, not adjusted for inflation. 
 
 Venom, fueled by fanboys and an ethnically diverse audience, as well as younger moviegoers, impressed in fending off withering reviews (its Rotten Tomatoes score is 31 percent, compared to 91 percent for A Star Is Born). On top of making October history, it nabbed the seventh-best launch of the year so far upon besting fellow superhero pic Ant-Man and the Wasp, which opened to $75 million this summer. 
 
 The $100 million movie is an enormous victory for Sony's film studio, led by Tom Rothman, as it tries to build a stable of superhero pics beyond the marquee Spider-Man movies. Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Venom — also part monster pic — co-stars Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze and Reid Scott. Nearly half the audience was under the age of 25, while as much as 66 percent of ticket buyers were male. Those showing up gave Venom high marks, according to PostTrak, in addition to a B+ CinemaScore. 
 
 "One of the great things here is that there isn't another superhero film [Aquaman] until Christmas," says Adrian Smith, Sony's domestic distribution chief. "The movie plays great and audiences love it." 
 
 It's no wonder why Rothman and his team are intent on trying to compete with the likes of Marvel Studios: Superhero titles now claim five of the top 10 spots on the 2018 chart, and six if including Incredibles 2. In February, Marvel and Disney's Black Panther opened to a massive $202 million domestically, a number usually reserved for summer. 
 
 Venom's strong opening overseas is especially impressive considering it hasn't yet opened in China, where giant media company Tencent recently took a major stake in the pic. 
 
 Marking Bradley Cooper's directorial debut and Lady Gaga's first lead role on the big screen, A Star Is Born boasts one of the top starts ever for a romantic drama or musical. 
 
 Costing a relatively modest $40 million to produce, A Star Is Born is the fourth adaptation of the classic tale of a tortured, hard-drinking celebrity — in this case, a rock star (Cooper) — who falls in love with a singer on the brink of fame (Gaga). Live Nation Productions is a partner on the R-rated film. 
 
 More than 85 percent of the audience was over the age of 25, while femmes made up 66 percent of ticket buyers. A large swath of the audience was between the ages of 25 and 34. 
 
 "Lady Gaga fans turned out in a big way. It was evident throughout the weekend. Clearly, she can carry a movie, and clearly, Bradley can direct and sing," says Warners distribution chief Jeff Goldstein, adding that the pic's soundtrack, released last week, is No. 1 on iTunes, while "Shallow" is the No. 1 song. 
 
 The month of October has never been viewed as a corridor for mega-openings; rather, films — and especially adult-skewing titles and awards contenders such as A Star Is Born — can enjoy a long run. In 2014, the adult-fueled thriller Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, opened to $37.5 million over the Oct. 3-5 weekend on its way to grossing $167.8 million domestically. 
 
 Among holdovers, Warners' family film Smallfoot placed third in its second outing, declining a slim 35 percent to $14.9 million for a domestic total of $42.8 million. The animated pic was followed by the Tiffany Haddish-Kevin Hart comedy Night School, which slipped 55 percent its is sophomore outing to $12.3 million for a 10-day North American cume of $46.8 million. Globally, the film has grossed $58.7 million. 
 
 Amblin and Universal's The House With a Clock In its Walls rounded out the top five with $7.3 million in its third weekend for a domestic total of $55.1 million and $87.4 million worldwide. 
 
 Other highlights of the weekend: Paul Feig and Lionsgate's sleeper hit A Simple Favor ended Sunday with a domestic total of nearly $50 million and $76.4 million globally. Lows included Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 11/9, tumbling 80 percent in its third outing for a domestic total of $6 million as it loses theaters. 
 
 A Star Is Born wasn't the only new film hoping to entice awards voters. Another round of fall festival titles opened at the specialty box office this weekend, including Fox 2000's police shooting drama The Hate U Give, starring Amandla Stenberg as a young girl who witnesses a police shooting in George Tillman Jr.'s adaptation of Angie Thomas' best-seller. 
 
 The critically acclaimed movie, which opened in 36 cinemas, earned an estimated $500,000 for a screen average of $13,885.
– The surprise combination of Venom and A Star is Born lit up the weekend box office with two strong debuts, Variety reports. The Marvel antihero flick scored $80 million domestically as the well-reviewed remake starring Lady Gaga banked $42 million. Rounding out the top five were Smallfoot ($14 million), Night School ($12 million), and The House With a Clock In its Walls ($7 million), per the Hollywood Reporter. Under the radar, the Blake Lively-Anna Kendrick noirish thriller A Simple Favor remains a sleeper hit at $50 million total, and Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 11/9 fell 80% for a disappointing tally of about $6 million.