‘Spider-Man’ surpasses $1B globally in second weekend

Peter Parker’s good fortune continued over the holiday weekend as Hollywood prepares to close the books on a turbulent 2021. Even with some mighty competition from new “Matrix” and “Sing” movies, and rising concerns over the omicron variant, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” stayed in the No. 1 spot and netted a few more milestones, too, including crossing the $1 billion mark globally.

According to studio estimates Sunday “Spider-Man” added $81.5 million over the three-day weekend, down 69% from its first weekend. The Sony and Marvel film has now grossed $467 million from North American theaters, more than doubling the domestic grosses of 2021’s previous No. 1 film, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”

With $587.1 million from 61 overseas markets, in just 12 days of release, “Spider-Man” has grossed $1.05 billion globally. It’s the first film of the pandemic to cross $1 billion and is tied with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” for being the third-fastest film ever to do so – and this without the benefit of its release in China.

Universal’s “Sing 2” came in second place with an estimated $23.8 million, while Warner Bros.’ “The Matrix Resurrections” grossed $12 million to take third place.

The animated musical “Sing 2” features high-profile celebrity talent including Matthew McConaughey, Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon and Bono, as well as a jukebox soundtrack full of well-known hits. Since its release Wednesday, it’s made $41 million ($1.6 million of that came from Thanksgiving weekend showings) from North America and $65 million worldwide.

“We’re extraordinarily pleased,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution.

Orr said the stellar CinemaScore (A+) and audience scores suggest the film will continue to perform well in the next few weeks, when many kids are still out of school for the holidays.

The fourth Matrix also opened Wednesday and has earned an estimated $22.5 million in its first five days in North America.