'SPIDER-MAN: No Way Home' again dominated in North American theatres with an estimated USD$52.7 million (about RM219.84 million) weekend take, while topping the US$600 million mark domestically in its third week out, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said on Sunday.
The strong results for Sony's superhero sequel – last weekend it surpassed the US$1 billion mark globally – have breathed welcome life into the movie industry as it battles to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. British actor Tom Holland stars as the Marvel webslinger.
With families starting to return to theatres, 'Sing 2', Universal's animated musical sequel, took in a respectable US$19.6 million, again placing second for the Friday-through-Sunday period.
Its huge voice cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and U2 frontman Bono.
But there was a considerable drop-off after that, with the third top-earning film, 20th Century's 'The King's Man', taking in just US$4.5 million.
A prequel to the 'Kingsman' spy films, it stars Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans and Matthew Goode.
In fourth spot, 'American Underdog' grossed US$4.1 million. The Lionsgate film stars Zachary Levi in the true story of Kurt Warner, who went from stocking grocery store shelves to being a National Football League MVP.
And in fifth was sci-fi prequel 'The Matrix: Resurrections' from Warner Bros, at US$3.8 million. Variety called its performance "disastrous," given the film's US$190 million production budget.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
'West Side Story' (US$2.1 million)
'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' (US$1.4 million)
'Licorice Pizza' (US$1.25 million)
'A Journal for Jordan' (US$1.2 million)
'Encanto' (US$1.1 million) – AFP, January 3, 2021
