“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” raised $120.5 million in its domestic box office debut. Beating expectations, it nabbed the second-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind only “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” at $146 million, as well as the third-biggest opening weekend of opening for any “Spider-Man” movie.
Sony’s animated sequel is enjoying excellent reviews and positive word-of-mouth, as well as goodwill from its predecessor, 2018’s Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” ticket sales were significantly higher than the first film, which introduced audiences to Miles Morales and the idea that “anyone can wear a mask” and opened at just $35.5 million. But it stayed in theaters for a while, ending its big-screen run with $190 million in North America and $384 million worldwide.
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“It’s an exceptionally good opening for an animated sequel,” says David A. Gross, who runs film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research. “Spider-Verse took a beloved superhero, gave the storytelling an original visual style and voice, and created a unique experience.”
Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson directed “Across the Spider-Verse,” which cost $100 million. The story follows Miles and Gwen Stacy (aka Spider-Woman) as they try to save their fellow Spider People from the villain called 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. Audiences gave the film an “A” CinemaScore while critics gave it an average of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. Other than “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” it’s been a minute since a superhero movie has received this kind of praise.
“Across the Spider-Verse” took the top spot, but it wasn’t the only newcomer to the box office charts. Disney’s 20th century “The Boogeyman,” adapted from Stephen King’s short story of the same name, opened in third place with $12.3 million from 3,205 theaters. The Horror Story grossed $7.7 million at the international box office, bringing its weekend total to $20 million worldwide.
The film, which arrived slightly behind expectations, was originally slated to debut on Hulu and cost a modest $35 million to produce. Critics and audiences were mixed on “The Boogeyman,” featuring “Yellowjackets” actor Sophie Thatcher and Chris Messina. It holds 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 to second place with $40.6 million from 4,320 theaters during its second weekend of release. That’s a 57% drop since its debut. So far, “The Little Mermaid” has grossed $186 million in North America. Overseas, the Underwater Tale collected $42 million on its second outing, bringing its international tally to $140 million and its worldwide tally to $326 million.
Disney accounted for three films in the top five, as “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” took fourth place with $10.2 million. To date, the superhero trio have generated $332 million domestically and $780 million worldwide.
Universal’s “Fast X” rounded out the top five, adding $9.2 million from 3,467 locations on its third release. It made $128 million at the domestic box office, which isn’t all that 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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