For whatever reason, Sony became convinced that crafting an entire franchise set in the Spider-Man universe without featuring the webslinger himself was a good idea. In fairness, Kevin Feige and the folks at Marvel Studios did create the most successful box office franchise in history by taking lesser-known characters and giving them the A-list character treatment. But the key thing there was that those early Marvel Cinematic Universe films were actually pretty good. At the least, they were solid blockbuster entertainment. Sony, on the other hand, has pumped out a string of truly bewildering films based on the Marvel characters to which it owns the rights.

“Morbius,” for example, became nothing short of a joke upon its 2022 release, with Sony then trying to double down on that joke with a theatrical re-release that also flopped. Just in case the studio hadn’t already doomed its then lamentably-titled “Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters (SPUMC),” Sony delivered, “Madame Web,” a film that’s notable for briefly becoming one of those “so bad it’s good” movies (the infinitely-memed “researching spiders” line seemed like it might provide somewhat of a reprieve for the ill-fated film) before transcending that tenuous boundary once again to just be viewed as plain awful. With “Kraven the Hunter” having since debuted and failed to make much of an impact, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe appears to be dead in the water.

The only movies from the mercifully retitled Sony’s Spider-Man Universe that seemed to gain any real traction were the Tom Hardy-led “Venom” films, which started off pretty well before getting progressively worse — to the point the threequel, “Venom: The Last Dance,” saw Hardy’s Marvel trilogy end with a whimper. Still, a $474 million take at the box office on a $110 million budget isn’t too bad, and now there’s something else working in the film’s favor: Netflix. Yes, the streaming crowds have elevated this otherwise critically-maligned Sony Marvel movie, sending “Venom: The Last Dance” straight to the top of the most-watched charts.

Sony made some baffling choices for its Spider-Man Universe, but Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom was, at least at first, an inspired one that paid dividends across the three movies in the saga. Though the films themselves deteriorated over that time, Hardy was always charismatic and clearly right for the role. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to save the trilogy from going downhill, but that will be of little concern to Sony since the movies kept making money. Why were people going to see a film like “Venom: The Last Dance,” with its 40% Rotten Tomatoes score? It remains a mystery — as does the film’s arrival at the top of the Netflix most-watched charts.

The film hit Netflix on February 25, 2025, and jumped straight to number one. According to FlixPatrol, a site that tracks streaming viewership figures across the various platforms, “Venom: The Last Dance” is number one in 11 countries, including the United States. What’s more, the film actually debuted in the top spot in all of those countries on February 26, making “The Last Dance” an instant Netflix hit. According to FlixPatrol, the film has also been hovering around the bottom of the charts in Bangladesh, Hong Kong, and Pakistan, where it’s been available to stream for a little longer.

At the time of writing, Hardy’s threequel hasn’t fared quite well enough to chart on the global Top 10 (per FlixPatrol). But that likely has to do with the staggered release in various countries. Otherwise, this is an unmitigated success for a film /Film’s Chris Evangelista described as “a rushed, clumsy, lackluster finale.”

The debut of “Venom: The Last Dance” is a successful one to be sure, but it’s not quite the absolute global domination wrought by a film such as Cameron Diaz’s first project in 11 years, “Back in Action,” which took over the Netflix charts last month, hitting number one in 92 countries and staying in the rankings for weeks. That said, Diaz’s actioner was a Netflix original and was likely released in more markets on the streaming platform than Sony’s “Venom” movie.

“Venom: The Last Dance” also didn’t fare all that well with critics, but a 40% RT score might be a little high for it to truly become a fixture at the top of the Netflix charts. “Back in Action,” for example, bears a lowly 29%, while Amy Schumer’s latest comedy, “Kinda Pregnant,” similarly took over the Netflix charts with what was, at the time, a 22% RT rating. A 40% score seems comparatively glowing.

The real struggle for Sony’s latest “Venom” outing, if it wants to retain its position at the top of the Netflix rankings, is the competition. At the time of writing, “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” just hit the Netflix rankings at number two in the U.S. (as per FlixPatrol), and with its 91% RT score, could easily dethrone “Venom.” We’ll have to see how things play out for Hardy’s last outing over the coming week, but if he can stay at the top of the charts, it will likely be the last favor he does for Sony’s now defunct Marvel universe.