2021 box office closes with ‘Spider-Man’ lift
Hollywood closed out 2021 with more fireworks at the box office for “SpiderMan: No Way Home,” which topped all films for the third straight week and already charts among the highestgrossing films ever.
But even with all the champagne popping for “No Way Home,” the film industry heads into 2022 with reason for optimism and
concern after a year that saw ticket revenue double that of 2020, but still well off the pre-pandemic pace.
Movie theaters began the year mostly shuttered but ended it with a monster smash. Sony Pictures’ Marvel sequel “No Way Home” grossed an estimated $52.7 million over the weekend to bring its three-week total to $609.9 million. That ranks 10th all-time in North America. Worldwide, it has made $1.37 billion.
“No Way Home,” Tom Holland’s third stand-alone film as the webslinger, gave
a huge lift to the box office recovery that started in earnest last spring when U.S. cinemas opened after a year of COVID-19 closures. Marvel films dominated the turbulent year, accounting for the top four movies of 2021: “No Way Home,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” and “Black Widow.”
The North American box office in 2021 amounted to $4.5 billion, according to data firm ComScore. That’s about 60 percent down from 2019 — back before the days
of masked moviegoers, social distancing and virus variants like the currently surging Omicron.
Whether the movies will ever reach those pre-pandemic totals again is uncertain, given that exclusive theatrical windows have since shrunk, studios have experimented with hybrid releases, and little besides superhero films are packing theaters.
Second place over the weekend went to Universal Pictures’ animated sequel “Sing 2.” It took in $19.6 million in its second weekend
to bring its two-week total to $89.7 million. That’s a steady result given that family movies and films skewing toward older moviegoers have been the slowest to bounce back during the pandemic. “Sing 2” added an additional $54.9 million internationally.
But after “No Way Home” and “Sing 2,” there was little that appealed to moviegoers over the holiday weekend.
“The King’s Man,” the third installment in Matthew Vaughn’s “Kingsman” series, grossed a modest $4.5 million in its second week after a lackluster debut. But that was still good enough for third place. The Disney release, produced by 20th Century Studios, has made $47.8 million globally.
Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” sold $2.1 million in tickets in its fourth weekend. The onceenvisioned holiday upswing for the acclaimed musical hasn’t materialized. “West Side Story” has grossed a disappointing $29.6 million domestically.