As Hollywood prepares to close the books on a tumultuous 2021, Peter Parker’s luck continued during the holiday weekend. Despite stiff competition from new Matrix and Sing films, as well as growing fears about the omicron version, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” remained at the top of the box office and achieved a few additional milestones, including reaching the $1 billion mark worldwide.
“Spider-Man” made $81.5 million over the three-day weekend, according to studio estimates, down 69 percent from its first weekend. The Sony and Marvel film has now grossed $467 million in North American theaters, more than double the domestic grosses of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” which was the year’s previous No. 1 film.
“Spider-Man” has grossed $1.05 billion worldwide in just 12 days of release, with $587.1 million from 61 overseas territories. It’s the first picture in the epidemic to gross $1 billion, and it’s tied for third place with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” as the fastest film ever to accomplish it — and that’s without the benefit of a Chinese release.
With an estimated $23.8 million, Universal’s “Sing 2” landed in second, while Warner Bros.’ “The Matrix Resurrections” came in third with $12 million.
Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon, and Bono star in the animated musical “Sing 2,” which also boasts a jukebox soundtrack filled with well-known hits. Since its premiere on Wednesday, it has grossed $41 million in North America ($1.6 million of which came from Thanksgiving weekend showings) and $65 million globally.
“We’re ecstatic,” Jim Orr, Universal’s head of domestic distribution, said.
Orr believes that the film’s high CinemaScore (A+) and audience ratings indicate that it will continue to do well in the coming weeks when many children are still on vacation.
The fourth Matrix launched on Wednesday as well, grossing an estimated $22.5 million in North America in its first five days. The film, directed by Lana Wachowski and starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, is also available to watch on HBO Max. To date, it has made $69.8 million worldwide.
While the company had hoped for a higher box office, Warner Bros. director of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein stated the film met the studio’s goals as a whole, including HBO Max.
“The Matrix Resurrections” is the last of the 18 Warner Bros. films set to be released in 2021 that will be released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. The studio will have a 45-day exclusive theatrical window on their films starting in 2022.
Disney and 20th Century Fox’s “The King’s Man,” a prequel to the action-comedy Kingsman series starring Ralph Fiennes, came in fourth place. With $6.4 million over the weekend and $10 million from the first five days, it came in somewhat below projections. The audience was overwhelmingly male (65 percent).
To complete out the top five, the Kurt Warner biographical “American Underdog” debuted on Christmas Day and grossed an estimated $6.2 million in its first two days. Warner is played by Zachary Levi, who rose from being an undrafted free agent to become a Hall of Fame quarterback.
After a month in restricted release, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” was released nationwide on Christmas Day, grossing $2.3 million, bringing the total to $3.7 million. The drama “A Journal for Jordan,” directed by Denzel Washington, came in second with $2.2 million.
With only a few days left in 2021, the North American box office is presently at $4.3 billion, with a profit of roughly $4.4 billion expected. Prior to the epidemic, a year’s box office would typically exceed $11 billion.
“To say it was a roller-coaster year is an understatement,” Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst, said. “The epidemic is still posing issues in the marketplace, but what a tremendous end to one of the most incredible years in box office history.”
“The future of the movie theater was a major question mark a year ago, and a year later, it’s here to stay,” he continued.
According to Comscore estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian theaters. On Monday, the final domestic data will be announced.
“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is the first film in the Spider-Man franchise. $81.5 million in total.
2. $23.8 million for “Sing 2.”
3. “The Matrix Resurrections,” a sequel to “The Matrix.” The total cost is $12 million.
4. “The King’s Man” is a film about a man who becomes a king. 6.4 million dollars
5. “The Underdog in America,” 6.2 million dollars
6. $2.8 million for “West Side Story.”
7. $2.3 million for “Licorice Pizza.”
8. “A Jordanian Journal,” The total cost is $2.2 million.
9. $2 million for “Encanto.”
10. “83,” with a budget of $1.8 million.
