After generating over $1 billion at the box office, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has made history, making it the first pandemic film to do so. ayokinews.com reports
Sony’s comic-book blockbuster surpassed the billion-dollar mark in a near-record 12 days, tying with 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” for third fastest.
Only “Avengers: Infinity War” from 2018 and “Avengers: Endgame” from 2019 were faster, breaking the record in 11 and five days, respectively.
Given the fast spreading omicron variant of COVID-19, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” managed to surpass $1 billion in international ticket sales.
It makes Tom Holland’s Marvel superhero adventure the first film to cross $1 billion worldwide since “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019. In the last two years, no other Hollywood film has come close to matching those box office receipts.
Sequel to Spidey’s-reign, MGM’s James Bond “No Time to Die,” with a global revenue of $774 million, was the highest-grossing Hollywood film of 2021. (and the pandemic).
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” dethroned China’s “The Battle at Lake Changjin” ($902 million) as the year’s highest-grossing film worldwide.
It’s also worth noting that “No Way Home” hit that milestone despite not having been released in China, the world’s largest movie-going market at the time.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” had another strong weekend at the box office in the United States, outperforming the competition in a busy holiday season.
Over the weekend, 4,336 North American cinemas saw the latest “Spider-Man” adventure, grossing $81 million. To put that figure in context, just a few COVID-era films have been able to achieve that level of acclaim for the course of their theatrical runs, let alone in their second weekend.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” did so at a time when a slew of new films — including “The Matrix Resurrections,” “Sing 2,” and “The King’s Man” — debuted to mixed reviews.
The film’s ten-day domestic box office tally now stands at a whopping $467 million. The second highest-grossing Disney and Marvel film, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” garnered a whopping $224 million domestically.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” added $121.4 million to its worldwide box office total over the weekend, raising its total to $587 million, boosting its total to $1.05 billion.
“Sing 2,” an animated musical from Universal and Illumination, debuted in second place among new releases, grossing $23.7 million over the typical weekend and $41 million since Wednesday. (This figure is significantly exaggerated since it includes $1.6 million in advance screening fees during Thanksgiving weekend).
It’s a slower start than “Sing,” which earned $35 million in three days and $54.9 million on five days. However, for a film aimed at parents with small children at a time when family audiences have been wary of going to the movies, it’s not a bad showing.
The film, directed by Garth Jennings and starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Kroll, and Bono, garnered an “A+” CinemaScore from critics.
Unless the epidemic has anything to say, “Sing 2” should enjoy a long run on the big screen, especially because it faces little competition among family flicks.
The original “Sing,” which featured a slew of animals with lethal pipes, debuted around Christmas and remained in theaters long into the new year, grossing $270 million domestically and $634 million worldwide.
The sequel will have a hard time matching those figures at this rate, but it should remain the de facto pick for kids throughout the holiday season.
“The Matrix Resurrections,” a sci-fi sequel from Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, came in third place with a thud.
The cerebral thriller performed well below expectations, grossing $12 million over the weekend from 3,552 theaters and $22.5 million since Wednesday.
The fourth installment in the iconic series is available on HBO Max simultaneously, as is Warner Bros.’ whole 2021 schedule, though the firm does not reveal digital viewership data.
“The Matrix Resurrections,” directed by Lana Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves as the suave cybercriminal Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. The $200 million tentpole has received mixed reviews (it has a 67 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating and a “B-” CinemaScore), so it’s unlikely to tip the needle in terms of ticket sales when it’s available for free on a streaming service.
“Right now, if you’re under 35 and going to the theaters, your first choice is ‘Spider-Man,’ and your second choice is seeing ‘Spider-Man,'” says David A. Gross, president of the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “If you have HBO, you can see ‘The Matrix’ later.” That’s how it works when a single film, like ‘Spider-Man,’ dominates the box office.”
Another newbie, Disney and 20th Century Fox’s “The King’s Man,” came in fourth place with $6.3 million from 3,180 screens over the weekend and $10 million since its Wednesday debut.
The prequel to the action franchise “The Kingsman” didn’t make up much ground internationally. The long-awaited spy comedy starring Ralph Fiennes only made $6.9 million in seven overseas markets for a total of $16.9 million worldwide.
“The King’s Man” narrowly defeated Lionsgate’s true-life sports drama “American Underdog” at the domestic box office. Since its debut on Christmas Day, “American Underdog” has earned $6.2 million from 2,813 locations, placing it in fifth place.
The film about rags-to-riches quarterback Kurt Warner (played by Zachary Levi) has been praised by critics and audiences alike, with a “A+” CinemaScore and a 98 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating. Unfortunately, the film hasn’t been on many people’s radars, and it could be snubbed by competition during the hectic Christmas season.
Strong reviews didn’t help Disney’s big-budget “West Side Story” remake, which debuted at No. 6 with $2.8 million from 2,810 locations in its third weekend of release.
Since its December premiere, the Steven Spielberg-directed musical has grossed $23.9 million in the United States. The song-and-dance film has had a sluggish start in international markets, collecting only $12.7 million from 46 countries so far. The $100 million film “West Side Story” has only made $36.6 million worldwide.
Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s coming-of-age humorous drama “Licorice Pizza” expanded to 786 North American theaters on Christmas Day after four weeks in limited release, earning $2.32 million on Saturday and Sunday, good for seventh place. To date, the MGM picture has grossed $3.6 million in the United States, making it an awards season contender.
Check Also: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/12/27/india-wants-to-protect-your-data-should-you-worry
