Spider-Man No Way Home Gets 3rd Biggest Opening Globally

By Entertainment News Desk
December 20, 2021
Last Updated: December 20, 2021

Entertainment, Hollywood, Movies & Reviews

Even if there’s a mutating virus on the loose, never underestimate your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Despite growing fears about the omicron variant, Spider-Man: No Way Home not only broke pandemic-era box office records but also surpassed Avengers: Endgame ($357.1 million) and Avengers: Infinity War ($257.7 million) to become the third biggest opening of all time.

In India and worldwide, the film broke box office records. According to BookMyShow, 3.5 million tickets for the movie had been sold by the end of the first weekend alone. Both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame established records for box office receipts. The film’s sales aren’t just coming from metro areas; tier 2 and tier 3 towns account for 52 percent of all transactions.

The first weekend box office collection for Spider-Man No Way Home in India is Rs 108.37 crore net and Rs 138.55 crore gross.

The Tom Holland-starrer grossed $587.2 million worldwide, making it the third-highest opening ever. In India, the film had the second-largest opening weekend of all time for a Hollywood picture. India is the sixth largest weekend opener in international markets, making it one of the top markets for the picture internationally.

According to studio figures released on Sunday, the Sony and Marvel blockbuster grossed a staggering $253 million from 4,325 North American sites, setting a new record for the month of December.

The popularity of the web-slinger couldn’t have come at a better time for a movie industry that had a rollercoaster year in 2021 and may be in for a rough start in 2022 as the omicron strain of the coronavirus causes more and more event cancellations.

“The historic Spider-Man: No Way Home results this weekend, from all over the world and in the face of many challenges, reaffirm the unrivaled cultural impact that exclusive theatrical films can have when they are made and marketed with vision and resolve,” said Tom Rothman, Chairman, and CEO of Sony Pictures.

“Everyone at Sony Pictures is indebted to the incredible talent who worked on this project, both in front of and behind the camera.”

It has grossed $334.2 million in five days in theaters throughout the world, increasing its global total to $587.2 million against a $200 million production budget.

The film has yet to be released in Thailand and Japan, and no date has been announced for China.

No Way Home was always going to be an “event film” for fans as the third standalone Spider-Man feature in the Tom Holland era.

Sony scheduled its release in the pre-Christmas period after multiple delays throughout the year, and as of late last week, it was expecting a pandemic-best opening in the $130 to $150 million range.

However, it became evident very quickly that Spider-Man would be flying considerably higher.

The movie made an amazing $121.5 million on its first day, knocking Star Wars: The Force Awakens out of second place. No Way Home is directed by Jon Watts and stars Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, and picks up with Holland’s Peter Parker dealing with the world discovering his heroic identity.

The threat of spoilers only contributed to the frenzied anticipation, which resulted in long queues and sold-out screenings around the country.

“This is absolute must-see, mandatory viewing for the target population,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst.

“No way were supporters going to boycott because of omicron.”

Many viewers paid top cash to see the movie on the largest screens available.

According to IMAX, its large format screens contributed $36.2 million to the global total.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home is the cherry on top of the box office return we saw in 2021,” stated Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX.

“With these unprecedented numbers, blockbuster titles continue to produce box office at or above pre-pandemic levels at IMAX.” And it’s not just the fans who are praising the film: critics have unanimously praised it as well. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 94 percent “fresh” rating.

Holland praised the fans for the huge turnout on Instagram. “It would not have been possible without you. Holland stated on Saturday, “Your love and support mean the world to me.” “Thank you, thank you, thank you, and there’s no going home if you haven’t seen Spider-Man yet…

“Merry Christmas and you know what to do,” says the narrator.

With $90.1 million in its first weekend, Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage retained the record for the best opening of the pandemic.

However, it wasn’t all joy at the box office this weekend. There were a few high-profile casualties in Spider-aftermath, Man’s notably Guillermo del Toro’s star-studded Nightmare Alley, which only made $3 million from 2,145 cinemas. After Spider-Man, Encanto ($6.5 million), West Side Story ($3.4 million), and Ghostbusters: Afterlife ($3.4 million), it debuted in the fifth position.

With a cast that included Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, and Rooney Mara, Nightmare Alley had gravitas and awards talk, but a week after Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story underperformed, it’s a sharp reminder of moviegoing realities amid the pandemic and the power of the Marvel fans.

More often than not, in the one-movie-takes-all climate, that one movie has been a Marvel film.

Marvel flicks will account for five of the top six films of the year, including Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Black Widow, and Eternals, in addition to No Way Home.

And, just in case anyone was hoping that West Side Story would follow in the footsteps of the “Greatest Showman,” the 20th Century Studios film dropped 67 percent in its second weekend in theaters, grossing only $3.4 million.

However, as the year 2022 approaches, Spider-Man may be able to assist the entire business.

“It’s nearly impossible to put into words how significant this launch is for an industry that has faced one of its greatest challenges in history in the epidemic,” Dergarabedian added.

“To have such a resounding mandate in favor of the movie theater experience as indicated in these numbers, which were unfathomable just a few months ago, makes this a watershed moment for movie theaters that I believe will be discussed for decades,” says the author.

According to Comscore, estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters.

On Monday, the final domestic data will be announced.