It’s official— “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has done what no other pandemic-era film has done so far, earning more than $1 billion worldwide. And the film did it in only 12 days. So, the box office is fully recovered, the pandemic is over, and we can go back to those coveted 2019 numbers, right? Well, not so much.
As many predicted, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” had another massive weekend, with a five-day holiday weekend that brought in $138.6 million domestically. Combined with its international totals, that brought ‘No Way Home’ to a stunning $1.05 billion worldwide. Not only is that the first film to pass this milestone since 2019, but it’s also pacing just behind “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which both earned more than $2 billion during their respective runs. Of course, with omicron being a real thing and the uncertainty that brings, it’s unclear if ‘No Way Home’ can possibly do anywhere near those totals.
That said, one thing that seems like a given, at this point, is the fact that “Spider-Man: No Way Home” will surely pass the gross of the highest-earning film in the ‘Spider-Man’ franchises, “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” which was released in 2019 and earned $1.13 billion worldwide. In fact, ‘No Way Home’ should pass that total sometime before next weekend. Clearly, ‘No Way Home’ is an unprecedented pandemic-era hit for Sony and the industry at large. But the old axiom that rising tide lifts all ships isn’t necessarily what we’re seeing when you look at the entire box office picture.
In the #2 spot, you have “Sing 2,” the new animated sequel that follows up on the massive hit film from 2016. In its first weekend, over the 5-day Christmas holiday, “Sing 2” earned $41 million at the domestic box office. That’s below the original’s six-day opening of $75.5 million. Obviously, the pandemic plays a large role in the sequel’s totals, so Universal isn’t upset with its totals.
But that’s where the good news ends this weekend.
“The Matrix Resurrections” also debuted this weekend, and the long-awaited, highly-anticipated sequel only pulled in a 3-day total of $12 million and a 5-day total of $22.5 million domestically. This is well below previous entries in the franchise, despite those films being released nearly 20 years ago. However, we must also take into consideration the pandemic (looming over everything, of course) as well as the fact that WB decided to release the film both in theaters and on HBO Max day-and-date. But don’t go blaming both of those for the disappointing weekend, as a whole. The decidedly mixed reviews from critics (66% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a pretty terrible B- CinemaScore based on opening night fan reactions have also played a huge part in the low box office totals. We can fully expect ‘Resurrections’ to fade away pretty quickly after the holiday season.
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However, ‘Resurrections’ doesn’t hold the title as the biggest box office disappointment of the Christmas release window. That distinction is given to “The King’s Man.” As a prequel film to the popular ‘Kingsman’ franchise, people weren’t expecting “The King’s Man” to do ‘Spider-Man’ or ‘Matrix’ numbers, but 20th Century Studios probably hoped for more than a 3-day total of $6.1 million and a 5-day total of $10 million. The 3-day total doesn’t even beat the faith-based sports drama, “American Underdog,” which earned $6.2 million domestically. Sure, it sounds like a broken record, but we must consider omicron and COVID, in general. That said, even taking the pandemic into account, this is a rough opening for a film that is supposed to attract young males (the folks who are clearly the biggest demographic rushing back to cinemas right now). It also makes you wonder if 20th Century Studios will rush into production for “The Kingsman 3,” which is supposed to begin filming next fall. We’ll have to wait and see.
Ultimately, when you look at the entire domestic box office weekend, it’s yet another frame where massive superhero blockbusters do incredible business but everything else is struggling. We’ve already seen some films get delayed even further into 2022 because of this trend, but it’ll be interesting to see when we’ll have the first breakout hit that doesn’t feature tights and capes. Let’s hope it happens soon.
