“Venom: The Last Dance ”continues box office hot streak, defeating Hugh Grant’s villainous turn in “Heretic”

"The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" snagged the No. 2 spot, just barely beating out the Grant-led horror film.

Not even a menacing Hugh Grant can unseat the box office champion that is Tom Hardy’s Venom.

Once again Venom: The Last Dance has scored the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office, continuing its three-week streak in the top spot. On the heels of Veteran’s Day, the third entry in the Venom franchise pulled in an additional $16.2 million towards its domestic total of $114.8 million, per Comscore. The film doubled its yield internationally, earning $33 million for a worldwide haul of $394.2 million.

Directed by franchise scribe Kelly Marcel, The Last Dance finds Hardy’s former reporter, Eddie Brock, and his symbiote pal Venom on the run, Being chased by adversaries from both of their worlds, the friends — who share Eddie’s body — are forced to make a devastating the decision that brings their future together into question.

As the title implies, the film concludes the Hardy-led trilogy — though the filmmakers took special care to leave the door cracked open for more symbiote-fueled adventures.

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In a surprise second place snag, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever debuted to an estimated $11.1 million domestically, bringing the holiday season to theaters across the country. Based on the bestselling book, the faith-based film centers on the Herdmans, a rowdy group of kids who take over their church pageant and shock the community by discovering the true meaning of Christmas.

Related: Heretic filmmakers on Monopoly, Hugh Grant's Jar Jar Binks impression, and that surprising cameo

Elsewhere, Grant poked and prodded at faith in Heretic, a religious horror film that sees him incite a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse. The film just barely missed its shot at second place, debuting to $11 million domestically. The film from Scott Beck and Bryan Woods picked up another $5.2 million in international markets for a global cume of $16.2 million.

Grant, the frightening figure at the center of the movie, previously told Entertainment Weekly that he is thrilled to be entering his villain era. "Let's face it, no one wants me to play the romantic lead anymore,” he said. “And thank God they don't."

It goes without saying that baddies have more fun, which is perhaps why Grant's credits have veered away from charming, affable men and towards straight-up antagonists (think Paddington 2, The Undoing, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and even Wonka.)

"Every actor really prefers it," Grant said of this villainous turn. "I think you'd be hard pushed to find an actor or actress who says, 'I just like playing nice people.' They're tough and they're always borderline boring. They're very difficult, nice people or heroes. And there always seems to be more juice in an evil character.”

He added, “It's a fascinating discussion about why that is and why audiences, from the beginning of time, have always latched onto the villains sometimes when they don't really latch onto the good guy. So it's always tempting for an actor."

Heretic is almost the best of both worlds: Grant plays Mr. Reed, a seemingly friendly man who welcomes two young missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) into his home under the guise of lively conversation about their faith. But beneath his usual warmth is a sinister ulterior motive, as the diabolical man seeks to test their faith.

Related: Lupita Nyong'o on the Wild Robot scene that left her speechless

In its seventh week of release, The Wild Robot suffered a mere 11 percent drop, falling to fourth place with another $6.6 million towards its $130.8 domestic tally. The animated adaptation of Peter Brown’s children's novel continued its success abroad where another $8.9 million brought its worldwide total to an estimated $292.4 million.

The film — which features the voices of Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o and fellow stars Pedro Pascal, Catherine O'Hara, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames — hails from Chris Sanders, the filmmaker behind such beloved hits as Lilo & Stitch, The Croods, and How to Train Your Dragon.

Rounding out fifth, horror sequel Smile 2 grinned wide, adding $5 million to its $60.5 million domestic tally. Globally, the film sits at $123.6 million.