‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Crushes Box Office with $253 Million, Becoming the Third Biggest Opening Weekend of All Time

Spider-Man: No Way Home, the latest installment in the Spidey saga, became the third best opening ever with $253 million in earnings, according to provisional estimates from the specialized firm Exhibitor Relations published on Sunday.

Highly anticipated, and postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the film is only topped by Avengers: Endgame ($357 million) and Avengers: Infinity War ($258 million), in the history of movie releases, according to Box Office Mojo. It is also the best opening of Sony Pictures release, according to Deadline.

Spider-Man: No Way Home begins where 2019’s Far from Home left off, with Spider-Man’s real identity, Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland), being revealed to the public by supervillain Mysterio. The high-schooler desperately tries to return to anonymity with the help of another Marvel character, Doctor Strange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Other films that weekend were far behind. Disney’s animated Encanto jumped from third to second place, grossing $6.5 million over the weekend, with a total of $81.5 million since its premiere a month ago. The film, with music written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, follows the adventures of ordinary teenager Mirabel, born into a family in which each member is gifted with magical powers, in the heart of the mountains of Colombia.

Third came West Side Story, Steven Spielberg’s remake of the 1961 cult musical that topped the box office upon release last week with $3.4 million.

In fourth place was Ghostbusters: Afterlife, also with $3.4 million over the weekend and $117 million after five weeks in theaters.

Another weekend premiere, Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro’s new film Nightmare Alley was fifth, with $3 million, despite a dreamlike cast featuring Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett and Willem Dafoe.

1. Spider-Man: No Way Home ($253 million)
2. Encanto ($6.5 million)
3. West Side Story ($3.4 million)
4. Ghostbusters: Afterlife ($3.4 million)
5. Nightmare Alley ($3 million)
6. House of Gucci ($1.9 million)
7. Eternals ($1.2 million)
8. Clifford ($0.4 million)
9. Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City ($0.3 million)
10. Dune ($0.2 million)