‘Spider-Verse’ spins into a big success
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” swung to the top of the domestic box office in its first weekend in theaters, proving that there is widespread audience interest in big-screen animated versions of Marvel’s marquee superheroes.
The movie led a host of newcomers that debuted to varying success on this pre-Christmas holiday weekend, including Clint Eastwood’s drug smuggling drama “The Mule” and the Peter Jacksonproduced epic “Mortal Engines,” which bombed in North American theaters.
“Into the Spider-Verse” earned an estimated $35.4 million from 3,813 theaters against a $90 million production budget, Sony Pictures said Sunday. That is a record for animated movies in December (although the hybrid “Alvin and the Chipmunks” movies were higher).
The movie has an innovative animation style — both CGI and handdrawn — and focuses on the Miles Morales character as he learns to become the famed webslinger. It’s another financial win for the studio’s latest “expanded SpiderMan universe” strategy after “Venom” and “SpiderMan: Homecoming.”
“The Mule” debuted in second place with $17.2 million, a solid debut for an R-rated film that cost $50 million to make. The Warner Bros. film drew an audience that was mostly older (78 percent over 35) and male (54 percent).
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released today. 1. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”:
$35.4 million 2. “The Mule”: $17.2 million 3. “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch”: $11.6 million 4. “Ralph Breaks the Internet”: $9.6 million 5. “Mortal Engines”: $7.5 million 6. “Creed II”: $5.4 million 7. “Bohemian Rhapsody”: $4.1 million 8. “Instant Family”: $3.7 million 9.“Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald”: $3.7 million 10.“Green Book”: $2.8 million