‘Spider-Man’ Keeps Cruising Along With $11 Million First Place Finish, Pushes Past $1 Billion Overseas
It turned out to be déjà vu all over again at the box office as Sony’s competition-killer, Spider-Man: No Way Home, just kept cruising along as the number one movie in North America with an $11 million haul in its seventh weekend in theaters. With no major new releases during an otherwise sleepy January frame marked by white-out blizzard conditions in the northeast, the top five spots on the domestic front remained unchanged. Meanwhile, overseas, Peter Parker and company soared past the $1 billion mark—and that’s without even playing in the world’s biggest moviegoing market, China.

Snagging first place for the sixth time in its seven-week run, Spider-Man: No Way Home led a lackluster session in theaters, dipping just -21.5% from the previous frame. The PG-13-rated blockbuster earned a $2,993 per-screen average at 3,675 locations. Spidey’s domestic box-office total now stands at $735.9 million, which keeps it in fourth place on the list of the highest-grossing domestic releases of all time. However, it now seems to be well within striking distance of the current third-place holder, Avatar, which pulled in $760.5 million back in 2009. As for the top two spots—currently held by 2019’s Avengers: Endgame ($858.4 million) and 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens ($936.7 million)—those seem to be safe. Still, pushing past Avatar would be a huge achievement for a film released during the pandemic…or at any time, really. Overseas, the Tom Holland-led superhero mega-hit pushed just past $1 billion over the weekend. Its cumulative global box office is now $1.74 billion.

In the runner-up spot (again) was Paramount’s Scream, which scared up a little under $7.4 million in its third frame—a -39.8% drop-off from the prior weekend. The R-rated “requel” starring franchise mainstays Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette, scored a $2,089 per-screen average in 3,518 theaters. Its total domestic haul after three weeks is $62.1 million, which well surpasses not only the film’s $25 million budget but also the $38.2 million that the previous installment, Scream 4, made during its entire domestic run in 2011. The latest chapter in the meta-fright flick saga has racked up $44.1 million overseas, putting its current worldwide total at $106.2 million. In other words, chances are good that you can expect a sequel to this requel.

In third place (again) was Universal’s Sing 2 with $4.8 million. The PG-rated sequel, which has been one of the season’s biggest box-office surprises, fell -16.5% from last weekend. Scoring a $1,391 per-screen average in 3,450 theaters, the animated musical featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, and Bono has collected $134.5 million to date domestically. Sing 2 has tacked on $133.4 million internationally, bringing its six-week global total to $267.9 million. It is the highest-grossing animated movie of the pandemic era by far.

Finishing in fourth (again) was Universal’s Redeeming Love with just under $1.9 million. Adapted from Francine Rivers’ 1991 bestselling book, the romantic drama stars Abigail Cowen as a prostitute who falls in love with Tom Lewis’ man of faith during the time of the California gold rush. In its sophomore frame, the PG-13-rated dropped -47.6% from its opening weekend, earning a $942 per-screen average at 1,963 locations. Its two-week domestic take is $6.5 million and it has added a negligible $41,433 from overseas.

Rounding out the top five (again) was 20th Century Studios’ The King's Man, which has proven to have unexpectedly strong and long legs at the box office. The R-rated action origin story starring Ralph Fiennes took in a hair less than $1.8 million over the weekend, barely slipping -1.6% from the previous session. The King’s Man drew a $718 per-screen average in 2,440 theaters, putting its domestic box-office total at $34 million. But the real news is the film’s popularity overseas, where it has racked up a whopping $80.4 million. The movie’s cumulative worldwide tally is currently $114.4 million.

Although there was little movement at the top of the charts this week, expect all of that to change in the coming weeks as some big titles start hitting multiplexes: Next weekend brings Paramount’sJackass Forever and Lionsgate’s Moonfall; the weekend after brings 20th Century Studios’ Death on the Nile; then on March 4th comes a superhero that will finally get Spider-Man shaking in his spandex—Warner Bros.’ The Batman starring new Bruce Wayne, Robert Pattinson. Stay tuned…