BOX OFFICE

'Spider-Man' fills the coffers for theater owners

Michelle ‘MJ” Jones (Zendaya) and her bestie Spider-Man (Tom Holland) star in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
Michelle ‘MJ” Jones (Zendaya) and her bestie Spider-Man (Tom Holland) star in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

LOS ANGELES -- For nearly two years, ever since the pandemic brought moviegoing to a halt, Hollywood has been consumed with a creeping dread. What if the movies never bounce back? What if the naysayers writing big-screen epitaphs are right?

So the sense of relief -- elation -- that washed through the movie capital last weekend, as "Spider-Man: No Way Home" arrived to sensational ticket sales, was palpable. "Have you seen The Daily Bugle headline?" Thomas E. Rothman, Sony's movie chairman, said, referring to the tabloid newspaper in the Spider-Man comics. "Spidey Saves the Day!"

"No Way Home" collected an estimated $253 million at theaters in the United States and Canada, according to Comscore, which compiles box office data. Not only did more than 20 million people leave their homes to see a blockbuster movie, prying themselves away from their streaming services, but they faced down the omicron variant to do it -- a reflection, box office analysts said, of the film's novel "multiverse" storytelling, a pent-up desire to be part of a big cultural moment, and, perhaps, weariness with the impingement of the pandemic on their lives.

It was the highest opening-weekend result in the 19-year history of the eight-film, live-action "Spider-Man" franchise. And it was the third-highest in the overall Hollywood history books, behind "Avengers: Endgame" ($357 million) and "Avengers: Infinity War" ($258 million).

"For the target audience, this is absolute must-see, required viewing," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "There is no way fans were going to opt out because of omicron.

"It's almost hard to describe how important this debut is to an industry that was beset with one of the biggest challenges in its history in the pandemic," Dergarabedian said. "To have this resounding mandate in favor of the movie theater experience as expressed in these numbers that even just a few months ago were unthinkable makes this a watershed moment for movie theaters that I think will be discussed for decades."

Before last weekend, Sony's "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" held the record for best opening of the pandemic with $90.1 million.

"We can legitimately say that we're in recovery mode," said Mark Zoradi, CEO of Cinemark, one of North America's largest multiplex chains. He added, "This is a major shot in the arm. I think it's going to propel a satisfying Christmas season." Cinemark, which, like other chains, has implemented wide-ranging safety protocols, said last Friday that "No Way Home" delivered the company's biggest opening-night gross ever.

"The 'Spider-Man' numbers are sensational, but until covid recedes and is considered something like the flu, the business is not out of the woods," said David A. Gross, who runs the film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research.

Look no further than "Nightmare Alley," a lavish noir thriller with an all-star cast that arrived in 2,145 North American theaters last Friday. It collected a disastrous $3 million, a result that Gross called "a reminder of the parts of the business that are still broken." Directed and co-written by Guillermo del Toro, "Nightmare Alley" cost Searchlight Pictures, which is owned by Disney, an estimated $60 million to make.

Movies aimed at older moviegoers -- "West Side Story," "King Richard," "The Last Duel" -- have been struggling at the box office, held back in part because older women, in particular, remain concerned about the coronavirus, analysts say. In addition, audiences do not seem to be in the mood for dark and dour, and "Nightmare Alley" is pitch black.

Disney's animated musical "Encanto" claimed second place for the weekend with a $6.5 million haul, according to Comscore.

Falling to third place in its second weekend was another adult-skewing film: 20th Century Studios and Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story," which picked up $3.4 million for a North American cumulative of $18 million.

AMC, a stock that's seen big swings this year, rose 19% last Friday to $29.12. Cinemark, meanwhile, was up 0.3% to $16.21.

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