411 Box Office Report: Spider-Man: No Way Home Leads For Third Weekend, Tops $600 Million

It’s a new year, but the same film led the box office this weekend as Spider-Man: No Way Home slammed its way past $600 million. The MCU film had a very good drop to follow up last week’s fall, taking in an additional $52.7 million. That’s off just 38%, a nice recovery from the mostly expected 68% drop over Christmas weekend.

No Way Home: has now grossed $609.9 million domestically, moving it into the #10 slot on the all-time list. Add in the overseas numbers and it is at #12 worldwide with $1.369 billion. Of course, this is a massive hit and the biggest movie in theaters since Avengers: Endgame. The film is still looking on trap to top $700 million domestically. The budget was $200 million.

No Way Home wasn’t the only film to take advantage of the weekend’s history of low drops. Sing 2 held on fantastically well in its second weekend, down just 12% to $19.6 million. That brings the Universal animated sequel up to $89.7 million domestically and $144.6 million worldwide. There’s a reason why the final weeks of the year are so loaded with new releases, and this is a great example of why. The weekend take puts Sing 2 well on the road to hit territory, with a likely $150 million domestic final tally. The film cost $85 million to make, plus marketing.

The King’s Man desperately needed a good hold so that 20th Century Studios could minimize any losses from it, and fortunately for the studio they got that. The Kingsman prequel grossed $4.5 million over the weekend, down 23% from its disappointing opening weekend. That brings the period action film to $28.3 million domestically and $47.8 million worldwide. Neither of these are good numbers for a film that probably cost upward of $100 million, and this is going to still have some hefty losses for the studio, but the more they can cut the red down the better obviously. It should be able to close out its domestic run at around $40 million to $45 million.

Sports drama American Underdog was up a spot in its second weekend, grossing $4.1 million. That’s a 38% drop, which is okay out of context but less so when you consider that the first weekend was only two days. The Zachary Levi-starring film is now at $15 million. The budget for this one isn’t known, but a $25 million domestic gross seems likely which will probably be a fine result for what Lionsgate expected.

The Matrix Resurrections saw the bite of HBO Max, as it tumbled 68% in its second weekend to $3.8 million. That’s par for the course for most of the HBO Max day-and-date releases, which concluded with Resurrections. The film was already not in great shape based on the opening weekend, and this certainly won’t help the matter.

That said, it’s not all bad news, as the movie is only at $30.9 million domestically but is up to $106 million worldwide thanks to strong international numbers. The sci-fi action film still has a China release coming on the 14th and if that performs particularly well, this film may not be a lost cause even with the reported $190 million budget — but it would have to be REALLY strong there. Domestically, it seems likely to close out around $50 million.

West Side Story showed good legs for the second weekend in a row as it fell just 26% in its fourth frame to $2.1 million. The Steven Spielberg-directed musical has now grossed $29.6 million domestically and $52.7 million, which aren’t great against a reported $100 million budget. It will need to show Greatest Showman-style strength if it wants to hold on long enough to hit profit. The likely final domestic take is around $45 million.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife got a boost, as it leapt back into the top 10 with $1.4 million this weekend. That’s up 17% from last weekend’s number that landed it at #11. The franchise revival is up to $123.4 million domestically and a strong $184.7 million worldwide, profitable for Sony Pictures against a $75 million budget.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza slipped 35% in its fifth weekend, bringing in $1.2 million. The period dramedy now sits at $6.3 million domestically and $6.4 million worldwide with just a few markets open overseas thus far. No word on its budget, and award season will affect its totals, but $10 million to $12 million would make sense

A Journal For Jordan came in at #9 with $1.2 million, down a rough 46% considering the weekend and the genre. This is another example of where adult demos aren’t visiting the theater as much during the pandemic, as this would have done moderately well with older crowds. The Michael B. Jordan-starring film now has $4.7 million and should end its run at $10 million or so.

Encanto stayed in the top 10 despite being on Disney+, taking in $1.1 million. The animated fantasy musical now has a respectable $91.3 million domestically and $206.3 million worldwide. It should close out with $100 million in the US and will be profitable against its $120 million budget.

Next weekend will be a light one, as the only major new release is the action film The 355. That film shouldn’t make too much of a dent, with a mid to high single digits start likely which means No Way Home will get a fourth frame at #1.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Spider-Man: No Way Home – $52.7 million ($609.9 million total, $1.369 billion WW)
2. Sing 2 – $23.8 million ($89.7 million total, $144.6 million WW)
3. The King’s Man – $4.5 million ($19.5 million, $47.8 million WW)
4. American Underdog – $4.1 million ($15 million total, $15 million WW)
5. The Matrix Resurrections – $3.8 million ($30.9 million total, $106 million WW)
6. West Side Story – $2.1 million ($29.6 million total, $52.7 million WW)
7. Ghostbusters: Afterlife – $1.4 million ($123.4 million total, $184.7 million WW)
8. Licorice Pizza – $1.2 million ($6.3 million total, $6.4 million WW)
9. A Journal For Jordan – $1.2 million ($4.7 million total, $4.7 million WW)
10. Encanto – $2 million ($1.1 million total, $206.3 million WW)