Spider-Man swings into sixth place on all-time box office list

SPIDER-Man: No Way Home powered its way into sixth place on the all-time global box office list, as it returned to the top spot in North American theaters at the weekend, industry data showed Sunday.

In its sixth week out, the Sony superhero yarn with Tom Holland in the title role took in an estimated US$14.1 million (RM59 million) in the United States and Canada after slipping briefly from the top rung last weekend, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.

Globally, its expected US$1.69 billion total would push it past blockbusters Jurassic World (US$1.67 billion) and The Lion King (US$1.66 billion) into sixth place on the all-time list, according to Box Office Mojo, a division of the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).

The achievement is all the more notable given that it came during the Covid-19 pandemic, when theatergoers have been skeptical about returning to auditoriums amid an Omicron-fueled surge in the number of cases.

The only films ahead of it in terms of worldwide box office takes are Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, Titanic, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens and Avengers: Infinity War. 

Paramount's latest installment in the Scream horror franchise grossed US$12.4 million for second place in the Friday-through-Sunday period. As in the original Scream from 1996, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette star. 

The third spot went to Universal's animated musical Sing 2, at US$5.7 million. The family friendly film has a big voice cast, including Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Matthew McConaughey, Pharrell Williams and Bono.

Universal also claimed fourth place, with new Christian romance drama Redeeming Love, at US$3.7 million. 

Set during the California Gold Rush – though it was filmed in Cape Town – the film offers a parable about sin and salvation that has fared better with audiences, especially in the South, than with critics, analysts say.

And in fifth, for the second week, was spy action comedy The King's Man from 20th Century, at US$1.8 million. Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans and Matthew Goode star. – AFP, January 24, 2022