'Spider-Man: No Way Home' box office numbers scale in record books

Final box office figures showed "Spider-Man: No Way Home" hauled in an even bigger audience than originally estimated, for a weekend total of $260 million at US and Canadian theaters, distributor Sony Corp said on Monday.

That lifted the superhero adventure to second on the list of all-time domestic openings for Hollywood films, just ahead of the nearly $258 million in 2018 for "Avengers: Infinity War."

International ticket sales for "No Way Home" also rose to $340.8 million for a global total of $600.8 million.

On Sunday, Sony had forecast that "No Way Home" would finish the weekend in third place domestically with $253 million and a worldwide total of $587.2 million. Monday's figures included actual ticket sales from Thursday through Sunday night.

"Avengers: Endgame" holds the opening weekend record in the United States and Canada with a $357 million debut in 2019.

The performance of "No Way Home," which stars Tom Holland as the web-slinging hero and Zendaya as his girlfriend, boosted theater chains such as AMC Entertainment (AMC.N) and Cinemark Holdings (CNK.N).

Theaters are trying to recover from extended closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and face new concerns from the omicron variant heading into the normally busy week around Christmas.

 Analysts said "No Way Home" proved interest in superhero movies remains high. The film also added to the intrigue by bringing in older Marvel characters in the conclusion of a popular trilogy. The movie played exclusively in theaters without an at-home streaming option.

Other films have struggled to draw people to cinemas. Director Guillermo del Toro's thriller "Nightmare Alley," for example, sold roughly $3 million worth of tickets over the weekend.

SOURCE: REUTERS