‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Has Biggest Thursday Opening of the Pandemic
With great power comes great responsibility, and apparently a boatload of a cash. Spider-Man: No Way Home had the biggest Thursday preview day since Avengers: Endgame. The collaboration between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios has even proven to be more popular than Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on its opening day.
According to Deadline, the film grossed some $50 million on Thursday night, shattering the previious record for the biggest opening since the start of the pandemic. (That was another Marvel film, Black Widow, which grossed $13.2 million on its opening day.) It’s also the third biggest Thursday opening ever behind Avengers: Endgame ($60 million) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($57 million).
Not only that, but Fandango claims that Spider-Man: No Way Home has sold more tickets prior to opening day than the entire theatrical run of any 2021 release. Tickets first launched on the website 3 weeks ago, and every day since then, the superhero flick has been the top-selling title. To make matters even more impressive, the Tom Holland-led movie grossed $43.6 million overseas at the international box office (via Deadline) after it opened on Wednesday. It quickly set a post-pandemic opening record in Korea, as well as raking in $10.1 million in the UK — surpassing No Time To Die at $6.6 million.
Directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: No Way Home is the third movie to star Holland as Peter Parker. The web-slinging hero is accompanied by his girlfriend MJ Jones-Watson (Zendaya) and Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange. Thanks to the opening of the multiverse, Spider-Man goes head-to-head with some classic foes, including Electro (Jamie Foxx), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), and Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina).
So far, critics have praised Spider-Man: No Way Home for its ambitious introduction of the multiverse and the grounded performances at its center. The film currently sits with a 94-percent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes after over 200 reviews from critics. It's looking like Holland's latest outing as Spider-Man really is worth the hype.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters.