‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Keeps Smashing Records While ‘The 355’ Shoots Blanks
Buffeted by bad reviews and bleak box-office predictions, the star-studded female spy thriller, The 355, never really stood a chance against Spider-Man: No Way Home—not even in the blockbuster’s fourth weekend in theaters. Even so, Universal’s globe-trotting espionage flick fell short of expectations, pulling in a paltry $4.8 million in its domestic debut. Meanwhile, Peter Parker and company continued their miracle run at the multiplex, not just taking the top spot again with ease (thanks to its $33 million North American haul over the weekend), but also continuing their assault on the record books, where the Tom Holland tentpole became the sixth highest-grossing film of all time at the domestic box office and the eighth-biggest worldwide.

Let’s kick things off with the good news: After a month in theaters, Spider-Man: No Way Home continues to be one of the few Hollywood films to succeed despite of the pandemic. For years, superhero movies were said to be critic-proof, but now they seem to be immune to anything Mother Nature throws in their path, too. In its fourth week of release, Sony’s PG-13 smash fell -41.1% from the previous frame. Its $33 million in domestic receipts came from 4,012 theaters, which translates to a $8,229 per-screen average. Spidey’s North American total now stands at just under $668.8 million. No Way Home continues to smash box-office records left and right. A week after breaking into the top 10 domestic earners of all time, it has already jumped up to sixth place, most recently leapfrogging year 2015’s Jurassic World ($652.4 million) and 1997’s Titanic ($659.4 million). Next to fall will be fifth-place holder, 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War ($678.8 million). Overseas, the webslinger has piled on another $867.5 million so far, putting its global total at just a hair under $1.54 billion—enough to slot it in eighth place worldwide, just ahead of 2102’s The Avengers ($1.52 billion).

In second place was another new record-breaker, albeit of a slightly more modest variety. In its third frame, Universal’s Sing 2 continues to hit some harmonious high notes with family audiences. The PG-rated sequel collected a hair less than $12 million, dipping -40.7% from the prior weekend. Earning a $3,218 per-screen average in 3,713 theaters, the animated musical featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, and Bono has accrued $109 million to date. Zipping past $100 million over the weekend, Sing 2 became the only animated film to pass that hallowed threshold since Disney’s Frozen II back in 2019. Sing 2 has added $81.8 million internationally so far, bringing its three-week global total to $190.8 million. For comparison, the first Sing eventually topped out at $270.4 million domestically in 2016.

Finishing in third was the aforementioned, sad-trombone debut of The 355. The distaff espionage ensemble starring a Who’s Who of cinema’s top leading ladies (Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penelope Cruz, Diane Kruger, and Fan Bingbing) couldn’t surmount the film’s bad buzz. With its bright-green 37% splat from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, Universal’s PG-13-rated thriller about a group of international agents who band together to battle a common villain, limped into theaters, taking in just $4.8 million in its opening session. While those who did pay to see it (56% of whom were women) gave the film a ‘B+’ CinemaScore grade, the globe-trotting actioner only managed a $1,526 per-screen average in 3,145 theaters. The only silver linings of note are: a). The film will soon be seen by a lot more people since it will be available to stream on Peacock in just 45 days, and b.) it has not opened overseas yet, where its internationally high-profile cast may be able to move more tickets.

In fourth place this week was 20th Century Studios’ The King's Man with $3.3 million in its third frame. The R-rated origin story of the natty action franchise stars Ralph Fiennes and slipped -28.3% from the prior weekend, earning a $1,076 per-screen average in 3,040 theaters. The King’s Man’s domestic box-office total now sits at $25.1 million. The movie has nearly done double its North American business overseas, where it has rounded up $49.2 million, putting its cumulative global haul at $74.3 million.

Rounding out the top five was Lionsgate’s American Underdog with $2.4 million in its third weekend. The PG-rated sports drama about real-life NFL star Kurt Warner and his unlikely rise from supermarket check-out clerk to Super Bowl quarterback fell -38.2% from last weekend, nabbing a $884 per-screen average in 2,728 theaters. The inspirational crowd-pleaser has taken in $18.7 million in its first three weeks of domestic release. It has not opened outside of North America yet.