Few franchise blockbusters have come close to the fan fervor behind Spider-Man: No Way Home, with the success commercially and critically leaving even the likes of Star Wars and Avengers shaking their boots. Expectations for Disney’s third MCU Spider-Man flick were high, but few would have been able to predict how far the threequel has gone.
Early predictions for the film’s box office gains were impressive, but nothing in comparison to how well the film actually performed. No Way Home not only reached pre-pandemic numbers but managed to earn the third-highest opening weekend ever in domestic territories according to early estimates.
Leading star Tom Holland was nothing but grateful for the film's successful launch, thanking fans for their support.
Now, the film has already broken yet another box office record.
No Way Home Achieves Second Highest Opening Weekend Ever
According to Fandango's Erik Davis, Spider-Man: No Way Home achieved the second-highest domestic opening weekend of all time.
After previously being given the title of third-best domestic opening weekend ever, No Way Home exceeded estimates by officially earning a whopping $260 million, according to Sony.
This puts the threequel ahead of both of Disney’s highest earning Star Wars films, with Star Wars: The Last Jedi at the fifth position with $220 million and Star Wars: The Force Awakens in fourth place with $247 million.
These new numbers also edge No Way Home over Avengers: Infinity War's opening weekend of $257 million, with only Avengers: Endgame's $357 million opening ahead of it.
Spider-Man Dominates Over Avengers & Star Wars
If it wasn't already apparent, Spider-Man: No Way Home is on track for a phenomenal run at the box office. Beating out titans in the film industry like the Star Wars and Avengers franchises is no easy feat, yet the thrills the threequel delivers on have enabled it to do just that.
The only film ahead of Tom Holland's third solo outing now is the goliath that is Avengers: Endgame, but it would take a major surge of previously unaccounted-for earnings to achieve those heights.
Updates on No Way Home's overseas earning have yet to come out, currently sitting at 334.2 million abroad. As the film continues its box office run and opens in other territories like the Philippines, this number will undoubtedly rise even more.
The question on many people's minds now is whether the threequel will crack a billion. In pre-pandemic times, the answer would certainly be a resounding yes. The current state of the world makes it incredibly difficult to say, but the fact that No Way Home's opening has managed to hit numbers only previously seen before the pandemic could indicate that the film will defy the odds once again.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is in theaters now.
