Sony’s animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is showing solid traction, with an opening in the $25 million to $30 million range for its Dec. 14 to Dec. 16 North American launch, early tracking showed on Wednesday.
Tracking also revealed “total awareness” for the film at 81% and “definite interest” at 46%.
The movie, centered on 13-year-old Brooklynite Miles Morales becoming one of many Spider-Men, is rated PG-13 and marketed toward families, with the hope that the superhero saga will have a long life during the holiday season. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which carries a $90 million budget, comes from the team of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who collaborated on “The Lego Movie” and “21 Jump Street.”
Morales was introduced in 2011 in Chapter 4 of the “Ultimate Fallout” Marvel comic book series, which dealt with the aftermath of Peter Parker’s death.
The film was first rendered on computer then frame was finalized by hand. It’s directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman from a screenplay by Lord and Rothman. The pic is produced by Lord and Miller, along with Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, and Christina Steinberg. The executive producers are the late Stan Lee, Brian Michael Bendis, and Will Allegra.
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” appears to be the dominant title to be released on Dec. 14, well ahead of Warner Bros.’ Clint Eastwood drama “The Mule” and Universal’s post-apocalyptic fantasy “Mortal Engines.” Tracking shows “The Mule,” directed by and starring Eastwood as a drug runner who’s full of regret, with an opening in the $15 million range. Total awareness is at 54% and definite interest is at 40%.
Forecasts for “Mortal Engines,” produced by Peter Jackson, came in between $12 million and $18 million. The movie is set in a world in which cities mounted on wheels attack each other. It stars Hugo Weaving, Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Jihae, and Ronan Raftery. Total awareness is at 37% and definite interest is at 35%.