Animated Spider-Man Soars in Debut

Latest installment far exceeds forecast and first film
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 4, 2023 1:45 PM CDT
Animated Spider-Man Soars in Debut
This image released by Sony Pictures Animation shows Miles Morales as Spider-Man, voiced by Shameik Moore, in a scene from Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation's "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse."   (Sony Pictures Animation via AP)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse opened in US and Canadian theaters to a massive $120.5 million, more than tripling the debut of the 2018 animated original and showing the kind of movie-to-movie box office growth that would be the envy of even the mightiest of Hollywood franchises. Sony Pictures' multiverse-spinning animated Spider-Man spinoff sailed way past expectations, according to studio estimates Sunday. The film rode terrific reviews (95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and strong buzz for the hotly anticipated follow-up to the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the AP reports.

In the sometimes formulaic realm of superhero movies, 2018's Into the Spider-Verse offered a blast of originality, introducing a teenage webslinger from Brooklyn, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), a punk-rock Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), and a host of other Spider-People. It launched with $35.4 million on its way to $384.3 million worldwide. Across the Spider-Verse, which exponentially expands the film's universe-skipping worlds, cost $100 million to make, about half the cost of the average live-action, comic book movie. It was forecast to open at $80 million but turned out to be a box office sensation, and the second-largest domestic opening of 2023, trailing only The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

  1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, $120.5 million.
  2. The Little Mermaid, $40.6 million.
  3. The Boogeyman, $12.3 million.
  4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, $10.2 million.
  5. Fast X, $9.2 million.
  6. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, $3.4 million.
  7. About My Father, $2.1 million.
  8. The Machine, $1.8 million.
  9. Suga: Agust D Tour Live in Japan, $1.2 million.
  10. You Hurt My Feelings, $770,000.
(More box office stories.)

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