“Spider-Man: No Way Home” has swung into the record books with the second-biggest opening day of all time in North America, and the biggest debut ever for December.
Directed by Jon Watts, the latest installment of the web-slinger’s saga took in $121.5 million from 4,336 theaters nationwide Friday night, according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.
The total included $50 million from limited-release Thursday previews, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The big total made “No Way Home” the first film of the COVID-19 era to draw more than $100 million at the box office in its debut, and put it on the path toward a $250 million opening weekend.
The film, the third starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker, was well reviewed, and fans of the Marvel Comic Universe typically hit the theaters early to avoid spoilers, Variety noted
. The last time a movie drew so many to the box office was in 2019, when “Avengers: Endgame” had a $156.7 million opening day.
“Endgame” reached $357.1 million in its opening weekend, while 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” posted a $106 million opening day and a $257.6 million weekend. If “No Way Home” trends similarly, its final weekend total could exceed the projected $242 million.
The rest of this weekend’s box office so far was more in line with pandemic trends: Disney’s animated film “Encanto” took in $1.7 million, bringing its total in US theaters so far to $76.7 million, while Guillermo Del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” booked $1.2 million in its first day.
Last week’s winner, “West Side Story,” sold $1.1 million in tickets on Friday, bringing its two-week total to $15.6 million.