'Spider-Man' swings back to top of the box office

JOSTLING for the top three spots in North American theatres last weekend were the same films from the previous week, with The Flash overtaken by the latest Spider-Man iteration.

The debut of the raunchy comedy No Hard Feelings, as well as that of Asteroid City, the latest offering from cult director Wes Anderson, failed to get past the previous weekend’s top-earning films, although analysts said they performed well for their respective genres.

Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse took in US$19.3 million over the weekend, according to Sunday (Jun 25) estimates from Exhibitor Relations, bringing its domestic total to more than US$317 million, with showings in international theatres pushing the cumulative global earnings to US$560 million.

The film, a sequel to 2018‘s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and the latest spin on the Marvel Comics superhero, picks up the story of half-Black, half-Latino Miles Morales, voiced by Shameik Moore.

Pixar’s animated immigrant fable Elemental, which also held the previous week’s No 2 spot, earned US$18.4 million, bringing its total to US$65 million.

Warner Bro’s The Flash took the third spot, earning US$15.2 million a week after it opened at number one, bringing its box-office war chest to US$87.6 million so far.

No Hard Feelings, Sony’s R-rated offering starring Jennifer Lawrence, debuted this weekend in fourth place.

The movie’s US$15.1 million haul is “a good opening for an original romantic/sex comedy, at above average levels for the genre,” said analyst David Gross, writing for industry newsletter FranchiseRe.

“After a long decline between 2015 and 2022, romantic/sex comedies are growing again,” Gross said, with Joy Ride and Barbie coming out next month.

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Amid the spin-offs and sequels dominating the box office this weekend, Paramount’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts brought in US$11.6 million, for fifth place.

Next in line, following a limited release last week, was Focus Features’ Asteroid City, from off-beat director Anderson, for US$9 million.

While that’s a far cry from US$120 million netted by Spider-Man in its opening weekend, it represents “a very good opening for a speciality independent comedy”, Gross said.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

The Little Mermaid (US$8.6 million)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (US$3.5 million)

The Blackening (US$3 million)

The Boogeyman (US$2.5 million) AFP