Studio estimates show that Spider-Man earned $81.5 million in the three-day weekend. This is 69% less than its first weekend. The domestic grosses of the Sony and Marvel movie have now exceeded $467 million in North American theaters. This is more than twice the domestic grosses of 2021's No. 1. 1 film, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings."
In just 12 days, "Spider-Man", which has earned $1.05 billion worldwide, brought in $587.1 million in 61 markets around the world. It is the first pandemic film to surpass $1 billion. "Spider-Man" shares the title with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", which was released in China, and is the third fastest film to do so.
Universal's "Sing 2", which was estimated to have earned $23.8 million, came in second, and Warner Bros.'s "The Matrix Resurrections", which took third with $12 million.
The animated musical "Sing 2", which features high-profile celebrities such as Matthew McConaughey and Scarlett Johansson as well as a jukebox soundtrack with well-known songs, is a highly-anticipated musical. It has made $41 million in North America ($1.6 million from Thanksgiving weekend shows) and $65 million globally since its release Wednesday.
Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution, stated that they are "extremely pleased".
Orr stated that the film's CinemaScore (A+), and audience scores, suggest that it will continue to perform well over the next few weeks as many children are still at school during the holidays.
On Wednesday, the fourth Matrix opened in North America. It has already earned $22.5 million in its five first days. Lana Wachowski directed the film and Carrie Anne Moss stars. The movie is also streaming on HBO Max. It has grossed $69.8 millions worldwide to date.
The studio had hoped for stronger box offices, but Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' chief of domestic distribution, stated that the movie met their overall strategy, which included HBO Max.
"The Matrix Resurrections," the final of 18 Warner Bros. films to be released in 2021, will debut simultaneously on HBO Max and in theaters. The studio will offer a 45-day theatrical window for their films starting in 2022.
Fourth place went to Disney and 20th Century's film "The King's Man", a prequel series to the action-comedy Kingsman series that starred Ralph Fiennes. It was slightly below expectations, with $6.4million from the weekend and $10million from its first five day. Males dominated the audience (65%).
"American Underdog", a Kurt Warner biopic, opened Christmas Day. It has earned an estimated $6.2million in its first two days of release. This rounding out the top five. Zachary Levi plays Warner, the quarterback who rose from an undrafted free agent to a Hall of Famer.
Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza", which was released in limited release for a month on Christmas Eve, saw its national expansion. It added $2.3 Million, bringing the total to $3.7million. The Denzel Washington-directed drama, "A Journal For Jordan", was right behind it, at $2.2 million.
The North American box office currently stands at $4.3 billion. It is expected to reach $4.4 billion in 2021. It was not unusual for the annual box office to exceed $11 billion in a given year prior to the pandemic.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, Inc., said that it was "a roller-coaster" year. He added, "The market is still facing challenges due to the pandemic, but this is an incredible cap to one of the greatest years ever at the boxoffice."
He said, "The future for the movie theatre was uncertain a year ago. But it is here to stay."
According to Comscore, Friday through Sunday ticket sales were estimated at U.S. theaters and Canadian theatres. Monday will see the release of final domestic figures.
1. "Spider-Man: There's No Way Home," $81.5 Million
2. "Sing 2," $23.8 million.
3. "The Matrix Resurrections," $12 Million
4. "The King's Man," $6.4 million.
5. "American Underdog," $6.2 million.
6. "West Side Story," $2.8 Million
7. "Licorice Pizza," $2.3 million.
8. "A Journal For Jordan", $2.2 Million
9. "Encanto," $2 million.
10. "83," $1.8 million.
