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“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” grossed an amazing $120.5 million in its domestic box office debut. The film surpassed expectations to bring in the second-biggest opening weekend of the year behind only “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” with $146 million, as well as the third-biggest opening weekend for any “Spider-Man” film .
Sony’s animated sequel benefits from great reviews and positive word-of-mouth, as well as goodwill from its predecessor, the 2018 Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Initial ticket sales were significantly higher than the first film, which introduced audiences to Miles Morales and the idea that “anyone can wear the mask” and opened to just $35.5 million. But it proved to have lasting appeal and lingered in theaters for a while, ending its run with $190 million in North America and $384 million worldwide.
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“Across the Spider-Verse” took another $88.1 million from 59 territories in its international box office debut, led by China with $17.3 million. That brings the global total to $208.6 million to start with.
“This is an exceptionally good opening for an animated movie sequel,” said David A. Gross, who heads the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Spider-Verse took a beloved superhero, gave the story an original visual style and voice, and created a unique experience.”
Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson directed the PG-rated “Across the Spider-Verse,” which grossed $100 million. The story follows Miles and Gwen Stacy (aka Spider-Woman) as they try to save their fellow Spider-People from the villain going by the name of The Spot. Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld returned to voice Miles and Gwen, while the rest of the voice cast includes Brian Tyree Henry, Issa Rae, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya and Oscar Isaac. The public awarded the film an “A” CinemaScore, while critics gave it a 95% average on Rotten Tomatoes. Unlike Disney’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” it’s been a minute since a superhero movie received that kind of praise.
“Across the Spider-Verse” took the No. 1 spot, but it wasn’t the only chart newcomer. Disney and 20th Century’s “The Boogeyman,” an adaptation of Stephen King’s short story of the same name, opened in third place with $12.3 million from 3,205 theaters. The horror story added $7.7 million at the international box office, bringing its weekend total to $20 million worldwide.
The film, which fell slightly short of expectations, was originally slated to debut on Hulu and cost a modest $35 million to produce. Critics and audiences were mixed in “The Boogeyman,” starring “Yellowjackets” actor Sophie Thatcher and Chris Messina. It has a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes and earned a “B-” CinemaScore.
Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” remake, starring Halle Bailey as Ariel and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, slipped into second place with $40.6 million from 4,320 locations in its second weekend of release. That’s a 57% drop from its debut. To date, “The Little Mermaid” has grossed $186 million in North America. Overseas, the undersea story has raised $42 million in its second run, bringing its international total to $140 million and its worldwide total to $326 million.
Disney has three films in the top five, including Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” took fourth place with $10.2 million. To date, the superhero threequel has generated $332 million domestically and a mighty $780 million worldwide.
Universal’s “Fast X” rounded out the top five and added $9.2 million from 3,467 locations in its third outing. It has grossed $128 million at the domestic box office, which isn’t very promising for a blockbuster of its size. However, it fared much better at the international box office with $474 million, pushing worldwide ticket sales past the $600 million mark.
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