‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Had One Of The Biggest Movie Openings Ever, Despite The New Pandemic Wave

In New York City, some Broadway shows have cancelled shows. Lines to get tested for COVID are around the block. Cases are soaring. SNL went on without most of its cast and crew. Fears of another brutal winter wave, brought on by the Omicron variant, are upon us. But you wouldn’t know that from looking at the box office returns for Spider-Man: No Way Home. After an opening day that was both a pandemic-era best and second only to Avengers: Endgame (also featuring Tom Holland’s Peter Parker), the Marvel threequel went on to one of the biggest opening weekends in film history.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, No Way Home — which sends Spidey into the multiverse — wound up grossing $253 million over the three-day pre-Christmas weekend. But that’s not all. It’s overseas gross was a whopping $334.2 million, meaning a total haul of $587.2 million. (This is minus China, by the way.)

Domestically that haul — and again, during a once-in-a-century public health crisis that is about to kick into yet another gear — makes it the third biggest-ever opener, not adjusted for inflation. Number one is Avengers: Endgame, with $357 million, followed by Avengers: Infinity War, whose $257.6 million No Way Home almost beat. That said, it did outgross the domestic opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248 million), Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220 million) and Jurassic World ($208.8 million).

For contrast, the previous box office weekend champ of the pandemic era, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, grossed a “mere” $90 million. No Way Home also handily bested the previous three Marvel outings: Black Widow ($80 million), Shang-Chi ($75 million), and Eternals ($71 million).

In less happy news, non-comic book fare continued to sink like a stone. After last weekend’s poor showing for Steven Spielberg’s (very, very good) remake of West Side Story ($10 million), Guillermo del Toro’s star-studded redo of the classic film noir Nightmare Alley managed a mere $2.9 million. That suggests that adult audiences are still staying home — especially as cases once again skyrocket — and that there may be a grim future for movies not aimed at the young and carefree.

On the other hand, it sure does look like those who made it out to the latest webslinger movie really enjoyed themselves.

(Via THR)