Peter Parker's good fortune continued over the holiday weekend. Even with some mighty competition from new Matrix and Sing movies, and rising concerns over the Omicron variant, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" stayed in the No. 1 spot and netted a few more milestones too including crossing the US$1 billion mark globally.
According to studio estimates Sunday "Spider-Man" added US$81.5 million over the three-day weekend, down 69 per cent from its first weekend.
The Sony and Marvel film has now grossed US$467 million from North American theaters, more than doubling the domestic grosses of 2021's previous No. 1 film, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings."
With US$587.1 million from 61 overseas markets, in just 12 days of release, "Spider-Man" has grossed US$1.05 billion globally, making it the highest earner of the pandemic.
It's the first film of the pandemic to cross US$1 billion and is tied with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" for being the third-fastest film ever to do so -- and this without the benefit of its release in China.
Universal's "Sing 2" came in second place with an estimated US$23.8 million, while Warner Bros.' "The Matrix Resurrections" grossed US$12 million to take third place.
The animated musical "Sing 2" features high-profile celebrity talent including Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon and Bono, as well as a jukebox soundtrack full of well-known hits.
Since its release Wednesday, it's made US$41 million (US$1.6 million of that came from Thanksgiving weekend showings) from North America and US$65 million worldwide.
"We're extraordinarily pleased," said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution.
Orr said the stellar CinemaScore (A+) and audience scores suggest that the film will continue to perform well in the next few weeks, when many kids are still out of school for the holidays.
The fourth Matrix also opened on Wednesday and has earned an estimated US$22.5 million in its first five days in North America.
The film, directed by Lana Wachowski and starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, is currently streaming on HBO Max as well. Globally, it's grossed US$69.8 million to date.
And in fourth is Disney and 20th Century's "The King's Man," a prequel to the action-comedy Kingsman series starring Ralph Fiennes. It came in slightly under expectations with US$10 million from its first five days.
The audience skewed heavily male (65 per cent).
The Kurt Warner biopic "American Underdog" opened on Christmas Day and has made an estimated US$6.2 million in its two days in release. Zachary Levi stars as Warner, the quarterback who went from undrafted free agent to Hall of Famer.
Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" expanded nationwide on Christmas, after playing in limited release for a month, and added US$2.3 million bringing its total to US$3.7 million.
