LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) — “Spider-Man: No Way Home” unwrapped the best Christmas present of all, becoming the first pandemic-era movie to top $1 billion at the worldwide box office.

Sony’s comic book epic eclipsed that milestone in a near-record 12 days, tied with 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” as the third-quickest film to reach the billion-dollar benchmark. Only 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” were faster, smashing the coveted tally in 11 and five days, respectively.

It’s impressive that “Spider-Man: No Way Home” managed to top $1 billion in ticket sales worldwide considering the rapid spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19. That makes Tom Holland’s Marvel superhero adventure the only movie since 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” to top $1 billion worldwide. No other Hollywood film has approached those box office earnings in the past two years.

Prior to Spidey’s reign, MGM’s James Bond sequel “No Time to Die,” which grossed $774 million worldwide, was the highest-grossing Hollywood movie of 2021 (and the pandemic). As the first movie to hit $1 billion worldwide, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” took the earthly throne from another box office giant, China’s “The Battle at Lake Changjin” (902 million), to officially cement its place as the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide. It’s also worth noting that “No Way Home” surpassed that record without playing in China, which is currently the biggest movie market in the world.

At the domestic box office, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” had another dominating weekend, soaring above the competition during a crowded Christmas aisle.

The new “Spider-Man” adventure collected $81 million from 4,336 North American theaters over the weekend. To put that number into perspective, only certain COVID-era releases managed to generate such coins in all of their theatrical releases, let alone in their second weekend of release. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” also managed to do so at a time when several new films – “The Matrix Resurrections”, “Sing 2” and “The King’s Man”, among others – opened nationally. to decent (and not-so-decent ticket sales).

That brings the film’s ten-day total to $467 million at the domestic box office. That tally is more than double Disney and Marvel’s next highest-grossing “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” film, which grossed $224 million domestically.

At the international box office, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” grossed $121.4 million over the weekend and has grossed $587 million to date, bringing its worldwide revenue to $1.05 billion. dollars.

Universal and Illumination’s animated musical “Sing 2” had the biggest debut among new releases, debuting at No. 2 with $23.7 million over the traditional weekend and $41 million since Wednesday. (That figure is slightly inflated because it includes $1.6 million from advanced screenings over the Thanksgiving weekend.) It’s a softer start than its predecessor, 2016’s “Sing,” which got a total of $35 million over three days and a five-day total of $54.9 million. However, that’s not a bad result for a film aimed at parents of young children at a time when family audiences were particularly wary of going to the movies.

The film, directed by Garth Jennings and voiced by Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Kroll and Bono, was well received by audiences, who awarded it a coveted “A+” CinemaScore. Unless the pandemic has anything to say, “Sing 2” should get a long run on the big screen, especially since it doesn’t have much competition among family movies. The original “Sing,” which centered around a slew of animals with killer pipes, also opened around Christmas and played in theaters well into the New Year, eventually grossing $270 million domestically and $634 million in the world. At this rate, the sequel will struggle to replicate those results, but it should remain the de facto choice for young people this holiday season.

“The Matrix Resurrections”, the sci-fi sequel from Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, landed with a thud in third place. The cerebral film landed well below expectations, raking in $12 million from 3,552 theaters over the weekend and $22.5 million since Wednesday. The fourth installment of the flagship series, like the entire 2021 slate from Warner Bros., is available simultaneously on HBO Max, although the company did not provide digital audience metrics.

Lana Wachowski has returned to direct “The Matrix Resurrections,” which stars Keanu Reeves as the stylish cybercriminal Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. The $200 million budget tentpole received mixed reviews (it has 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a “B-” CinemaScore), which may not move the needle for ticket sales while simultaneously playing on a streaming service at no extra cost.

“Right now, if you’re under 35 and going to the movies, your first choice is ‘Spider-Man’ and your second choice is to watch ‘Spider-Man’ again,” says David A. Gross, who directs the film. consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “You can watch ‘The Matrix’ later with someone who has HBO. That’s when one movie dominates the market like ‘Spider-Man’.”

Another newcomer, Disney and 20th Century ‘The King’s Man’ finished in fourth place, raking in a measly $6.3 million from 3,180 screens over the weekend and $10 million since opening Wednesday. . Internationally, the action franchise’s prequel “The Kingsman” hasn’t gained much traction. The oft-delayed spy comedy, starring Ralph Fiennes, raked in just $6.9 million from seven overseas markets for a worldwide total of $16.9 million.

At the domestic box office, “The King’s Man” beat Lionsgate’s real-life sports drama “American Underdog” by a hair. In fifth place, “American Underdog” has captured $6.2 million from 2,813 locations since opening on Christmas Day. The crowd-pleasing film about quarterback Kurt Warner (played by Zachary Levi) has been embraced by moviegoers, who gave it an “A+” CinemaScore and 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t go down well with audiences and could be kicked out by contestants during the busy holiday period.

Good reviews did little to boost Disney’s big-budget “West Side Story” remake, which landed at No. 6 in its third weekend of release while grossing $2.8 million. dollars on 2,810 sites. The Steven Spielberg-directed musical has grossed $23.9 million domestically since opening earlier in December. Song and dance ownership has also been slow overseas, grossing just $12.7 million across 46 international territories so far. Globally, the $100 million-budget “West Side Story” only grossed $36.6 million.

After four weeks of limited release, director Paul Thomas Anderson’s coming-of-age comedy drama “Licorice Pizza” expanded to 786 North American theaters on Christmas Day and collected $2.32 million on Saturday. and Sunday, enough for seventh place. To date, MGM’s film and awards season hopeful has generated $3.6 million domestically.

Copyright 2021 Thomson Reuters.