They want pictures of Spider-Man. Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” earned $51.75 million on Friday from 4,313 locations, a figure that includes some $17.35 million in Thursday previews.
The animated superhero adventure is already outpacing projections headed its projections of an $80 million-or-so opening heading into the weekend, with the film now looking to thwip together a $113 million debut through Sunday.
The original 2018 “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” performed closer to a traditional animated release, opening to $35 million domestically before legging out to a $190 million haul through the holiday season. This new sequel has the momentum of a smash summer blockbuster though, now looking to more than triple the debut of its predecessor. The $51.75 million figure marks the third-highest opening day of all-time for an animated release. The film is also getting a boost from ticket sales for premium auditoriums like Imax.
That massive step-up in box office draw can be attributed to spectacular buzz. “Into the Spider-Verse” finished its theatrical run with roughly $375 million worldwide, but it earned raves from critics and audiences for its striking, form-bending animation and modern comedic punch. The film rode that wave all the way to the Oscars, becoming the first comic book film to win the Academy Award for best animated feature.
After growing its following over nearly five years, the “Spider-Verse” franchise has finally unleashed its sequel to an eager audience. Reviews are positive across the board once again, with a 95% approval rating from top critics on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences are also on board, as indicated by the “A” grade assigned by ticket buyers through research firm Cinema Score.
In Variety‘s review, chief film critic Owen Gleiberman extended some superlative praise, writing that “the film advances that story into newly jacked-up realms of wow-ness that make it a genuine spiritual companion piece to the first film. That one spun our heads and then some; this one spins our heads even more.”
“Across the Spider-Verse” features returning cast members Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy and Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker as the trio of arachnoid vigilantes journey between dimensions once again. New characters include Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), Spider-Man India (Karan Soni) and Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya). A sequel, “Beyond the Spider-Verse,” is due out in March 2024.
More to come…