‘Spider-Man’ opening breaks pandemic-era record, gives film industry hope
Never underestimate your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, even with a mutating virus afoot. Despite rising concerns over the Omicron variant, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” not only shattered pandemic-era box office records; it became the third-best opening of all time behind “Avengers: Endgame” ($357.1 million) and “Avengers: Infinity War” ($257.7 million).
The Sony and Marvel blockbuster grossed a stunning $253 million in ticket sales from 4,325 North American locations, according to studio estimates on Sunday. The web-slinger’s success couldn’t have come sooner for a movie business that has had a rollercoaster 2021 and could be headed for a difficult start to 2022 as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus forces more and more event cancellations.
In its first five days playing in theaters internationally, “SpiderMan”
amassed $334.2 million in
ticket sales, bringing its global total to $587.2 million against a $200 million production budget. The film has yet to open in markets like Thailand and Japan, and there is no release date set for China.
Directed by Jon Watts, “No Way Home” picks up with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker grappling with the world finding out about his superhero identity, and features Zendaya, Marisa Tomei and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. The promise of spoilerlevel plot developments only added to the feverish hype that led to lines and sell-out showings across the country.
“For the target audience, this is absolute must-see, required viewing,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “There is no way fans were going to opt out because of Omicron.”
Many moviegoers also shelled out top dollar to see the film on the biggest screens possible. According to IMAX, an estimated $36.2 million of the global total is from its large-format screens.