Sony
They want pictures of Spider-Man. Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” earned $51.75 million from 4,313 locations on Friday, a figure that includes $17.35 million in Thursday previews. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the biggest opening day of the year with $48.1 million.”
The animated superhero adventure has already surpassed its projections for a weekend opening of $80 million or more, and now the film is piecing together a $113 million debut through Sunday.
The original 2018 “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” performed closer to a traditional animated release, opening to $35 million domestically before taking in $190 million over the holiday season. This new sequel has the momentum of a smash summer blockbuster, triple its predecessor’s debut. The $51.75 million figure is the third-highest opening day of all time for an animated release. The film is also getting a boost from ticket sales for premium format auditoriums like IMAX.
That massive uptick in box office draw could account for the spectacular buzz. “Into the Spider-Verse” ended its theatrical run with about $375 million worldwide, but it was well received by critics and audiences alike for its striking, shape-bending animation and modern comedic punch. The film rode that wave all the way to the Oscars, becoming the first comic book adaptation to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
After nearly five years of growing its sequel, the “Spider-Verse” franchise has finally unleashed its sequel on eager audiences. Reviews have once again been positive across the board, with a 95% approval rating from top critics on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences are also ranked by the “A” grade awarded by ticket buyers by research firm CinemaScore.
In VarietyIn his review, chief film critic Owen Kleiberman said, “This film moves the story into newly imposed areas of wow-ness, making it a true spiritual companion to the first film. It made our heads spin, and then some; it makes our heads spin even more.”
“Across the Spider-Verse” stars Shamac Moore as Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy and Peter B. Jake Johnson as Barker again features a returning cast as the trio of interdimensional Arachnoid Vigilantes. New characters include Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), Spider-Man India (Karan Soni) and Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya). The sequel, “Beyond the Spider-Verse” is slated for release in March 2024.
The next three spots in the domestic rankings went to a group of Disney releases. The studio’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” earned $11.8 million on Friday, down about 69% from its opening day last week. The underwater musical looks set to add roughly $40 million in its sophomore run, bringing its domestic total to $186 million. That set the same pace as the 2019 “Aladdin” remake, which grossed $185 million in its first 10 days of release and finished with $355 million in North America.
“The Boogeyman,” the new horror release from Disney’s 20th Century Studios banner, earned $4.8 million on Friday. The monster-under-the-bed thriller sees an opening in the low eight-point range — not a strong result given its $35 million production budget, but more than it would have already done if the film had been released directly to Hulu. Originally planned. Positive test screenings led to theatrical release in the 20th century.
Adapted from Stephen King’s 1973 short story of the same name, “The Boogeyman” stars Chris Messina, Sophie Thatcher and Vivian Lyra Blair as a father and two daughters struggle with the death of the head of the family – as well as an unwelcome house guest. Hint: It’s the boogeyman. Rob Savage directed the feature.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” added $2.9 million on Friday, adding about $10 million for its three-day frame. Now in its fifth weekend of release, the Marvel trilogy caper has earned more than $300 million at the domestic box office and more than $750 million worldwide.
Universal’s “Fast X” continues to underperform in North America, facing a 61% drop in its third weekend for a $9 million haul. Although the film released in 2021 is in the first few months of box office recovery after the Covid lockdowns, the vehicle awareness group will take its domestic total to $128 million till Sunday. “Fast X” is performing very strongly overseas, with nearly 80% of its $524 million worldwide total coming from international markets.
