The major Hollywood studios held back this weekend and postponed new releases, a decision that likely capped an uncertain national mood after the presidential election. Their absence, however, is others’ gain, as A24’s tricky thriller “Heretic” and Lionsgate’s seasonal play “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” each seem to be making solid impressions in their opening weekends.

But it’s Sony’s “Venom: The Last Dance” that continues to top the domestic charts. After a disappointing opening weekend, the “Spider-Man” spin-off has held strong and turned in another one here. “The Last Dance” added $3.9 million on Friday, on its way to about $14 million for its third weekend of release. It has now earned $100 million in North America and will pass “Alien: Romulus” ($105 million), “IF” ($111 million) and “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” ($113 million) in the coming days to become 14th. highest-grossing domestic release of the year.

Then add to that the lion’s share of income that comes from abroad (almost 70%). It’s unlikely that “The Last Dance” finishes as high as “Venom” or “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” but the trilogy capper ultimately managed to salvage a decent theatrical run considering its $120 million production budget.

“Heretic” is currently in the lead for second place after earning $4.2 million on Friday and previewing screenings in 3,221 locations. The indie thriller, which stars Hugh Grant as a mind-game master who kidnaps two Latter-day Saint missionaries (“Yellowjackets” star Sophie Thatcher and “The Fabelmans” standout Chloe East), plans to run for three seasons Raising $10.8 million. day frame, per rivals.

That would be a good launch for the R-rated ‘Heretic’, one that will be among the A24’s biggest opening weekends. Last spring’s “Civil War” is a distant first with $25 million, but “Heretic” will land somewhere around “Hereditary” (second with $13.6 million) and “Talk to Me” (third with $10 million). It’s no coincidence that these two are also horror films – a genre where audiences are often more receptive to arthouse aesthetics.

“Heretic,” directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, scored strong reviews after playing at the Toronto Film Festival and AFI Fest. Ticket buyers are much more divided. Cinema researcher Cinemascore gave a “C+” grade for early audiences, but that’s also a pretty standard answer for a horror movie, and an A24 outré at that.

Lionsgate’s “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” currently in third place, earned about $5 million last Friday from preview screenings at 3,020 locations, on track for more than $9.5 million over the three days. Produced on a meager production budget of $10 million by Kingdom Story Company, which focuses on storytelling centered on Christianity, the cheerful and bright film looks to be a modest box office success that could end Lionsgate’s rough run of unfulfilled box office expectations. , defined by recent flops like ‘Borderlands’ and ‘The Crow’.

More promising for the Judy Greer and Pete Holmes comedy is the potential for positive word of mouth in the coming weeks as the country gets into the holiday spirit. “Christmas Pageant” scored well with the critics and Cinemascore earned a stellar “A” rating – both good signs for chances for longevity.

Universal’s “The Wild Robot” remains in the top five in its seventh weekend of release and is looking to add about $6 million for this frame, only a 19% drop from the previous release. DreamWorks Animation’s production has now surpassed $125 million domestic gross.

“Smile 2” will round out the top five and is expected to add $4.9 million in its fourth weekend on screens. The Paramount release should top $60 million through Sunday.