When the first Venom film was released in 2018, it received negative reviews from critics. As Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus stated, "Venom's first standalone movie turns out to be like the comics character in all the wrong ways—chaotic, noisy, and in desperate need of a stronger attachment to Spider-Man." However, despite that, the film was a huge box office success earning $856 million worldwide and Sony greenlit a sequel afterward.
Years later, as the release of Venom: Let There Be Carnage is ramping up, star Tom Hardy was asked in an interview with CinemaBlend to reflect on the negative reception that the first film got.
"I think with anything, you want something to do well that you care about. And obviously, it didn't meet," Hardy said. "It didn't carry any water with the critics. They literally panned us. But the audiences turned out in droves, which was what was so lovely about it. It was like watching an underdog be lifted up and be presented and enjoyed and relished for what it was. We got straight on the phone to Tom Rothman at Sony and said, ‘Look, can we put a pitch in to do the second one, because we're really keen to take what we learned from the first and get on and start writing that second one. (To) get on the floor again and see if we can push it further."
Despite the film's negative reviews, the audience still turned up to the film and became a huge box office hit, more than what everyone anticipated. It was successful enough that Sony decided to greenlit a sequel. As Hardy mentioned, they used the criticisms of the first film in order to improve and make the sequel better.
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It's great to hear that Hardy wasn't really affected by the negative reviews of the film and used it instead as their feedback on how they can make the sequel better. The early responses to Venom: Let There Be Carnage have been positive and some of them even mentioned that it is better than the first film. At the end of the day, it really all comes down to the box office numbers and the audience response as the studio's way of determining the success of their films. Besides, Venom has become a beloved character by the public after the first film was released so there is definitely a demand on doing a follow-up film.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is set to be released in theaters on October 1.