Results were pretty bright in overseas markets as well, even though the film has not opened in China, which is currently the world’s largest market for theater box office.
Despite much tougher lockdowns in Europe and other markets, Spider-Man netted $340.8 million over the weekend before Christmas, for a global total of $600.8 million. To put that in perspective, the third installment of Spider-Man achieved the third largest global opening weekend ever, and it did that without the world’s largest market.
“This weekend’s historic results, from all over the world and in the face of many challenges, reaffirm the unmatched cultural impact that exclusive theatrical films can have when they are made and marketed with vision and resolve,” said Sony Motion Picture Group CEO Tom Rothman.
While Rothman is a noted supporter of exclusive theatrical releases, the results from other films the weekend before Christmas were anything but stellar. The well-reviewed film Nightmare Alley from noted Spanish director Guillermo del Toro earned a paltry $3 million, despite an A-list cast. Another critic darling, West Side Story by Steven Spielberg, also tumbled into the ditch. It has earned $44.1 million since opening, but returns dropped an alarming 74% in its second weekend.
Still, the performance of Spider-Man: No Way Home has cast a far brighter light over the perceived future of theaters. It is the first film since the pandemic began to surpass $100 million domestically, and in fact, it earned more than any other domestic release in only its first weekend. Perhaps not surprisingly, the runner up is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, another film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
So, why did Spider-Man fare so well? First of all, the film was loved by critics and audiences alike, with a rare A+ rating on CinemaScore.
Another reason is the enduring value of Marvel’s approach to cinematic story telling, in which many disparate films all combine to create a much larger, over-arching story. Without releasing any spoiler, Spider-Man: No Way Home was designed as a pivotal film in the franchise which will essentially launch the entire next phase of the MCU. For anyone following the entire MCU storyline, the film became an instant must-see.
The challenge for this film, however, will be an all-new super villain that even Spidey’s super powers can do little to stop. We speak, of course, of Omicron.
While theaters were packed across North American during the opening, increasingly strict pandemic restrictions are being implemented around the world. In many regions, theaters are already being restricted to 50% capacity, and if it looks like hospitals will be overwhelmed with COVID cases, it’s very possible they will be shut down altogether. In fact, that’s already happened in Quebec, Canada’s second largest province, where theaters were been ordered closed as of Christmas week.
In Europe, movie theaters in the Netherlands and Denmark have been ordered to close until Jan. 14 and 17, 2022 respectively. Cinema closures have also been confirmed in Slovakia and regions of Germany.
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