‘Spider-Man’ stays strong, again topping N.America box office

(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 26, 2019 A giant inflatable Spider-Man is displayed on the red carpet for the “Spider-Man: Far From Home” World premiere at the TCL Chinese theatre in Hollywood. – The hit new “Spider-Man” became the first billion-dollar-grossing film of the pandemic era over the Christmas weekend, reaching the milestone while holding firmly to the North American box office top spot, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday. (Photo by Chris Delmas / AFP)

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — “Spider-Man: No Way Home” again dominated in North American theaters with an estimated $52.7 million weekend take, while topping the $600 million mark domestically in its third week out, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.

The strong results for Sony’s superhero sequel — last weekend it surpassed the $1 billion mark globally — have breathed welcome life into the movie industry as it battles to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. British actor Tom Holland stars as the Marvel webslinger.

With families starting to return to theaters, “Sing 2,” Universal’s animated musical sequel, took in a respectable $19.6 million, again placing second for the Friday-through-Sunday period.

Its huge voice cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and U2 frontman Bono.

But there was a considerable drop-off after that, with the third top-earning film, 20th Century’s “The King’s Man,” taking in just $4.5 million.

A prequel to the “Kingsman” spy films, it stars Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans and Matthew Goode.

In fourth spot, “American Underdog” grossed $4.1 million. The Lionsgate film stars Zachary Levi in the true story of Kurt Warner, who went from stocking grocery store shelves to being a National Football League MVP.

And in fifth was sci-fi prequel “The Matrix: Resurrections,” from Warner Bros., at $3.8 million. Variety called its performance “disastrous,” given the film’s $190 million production budget.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

“West Side Story” ($2.1 million)

“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” ($1.4 million)

“Licorice Pizza” ($1.25 million)

“A Journal for Jordan” ($1.2 million)

“Encanto” ($1.1 million)

© Agence France-Presse