Spider-Man: Far From Home snags $185.1M in its sticky fingers to rule the six-day holiday weekend box office
It pays to have one of the biggest lead-ins ever.
Spider-Man: Far From Home, the first Marvel movie after blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, swung past franchise fatigue to dominate the Fourth of July holiday weekend, raking in an estimated $185.1 million since opening Tuesday and earning $93.6 million from Friday to Sunday in North American theaters.
The opening gave Sony Pictures one of its best weeks ever. Far From Home, which opened overseas before landing in the U.S., has grossed $580 million worldwide in 10 days of release.
Caught in his web: Tom Holland as the latest web slinger and Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio, left, powered Spider-Man: Far From Home to an estimated $185.1 million global opening
It also came with an assist from Disney's Marvel Studios, which has partnered with Sony on this and its last two Spider-Man releases: 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming and last year's animated spin-off Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.
Though Far From Home, starring Tom Holland as the latest web slinger, fell short of the $117 million Friday to Sunday domestic opening of Homecoming, its Tuesday opening paid off. The film's $39.3 million opening day set a record for any movie on a Tuesday.
Part of the draw of the film, also starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio, was seeing the first installment in a new chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The strong performance of Far From Home, which has an estimated $160 million budget, along with the sustained interest in holdovers Toy Story 4, Yesterday, Annabelle Comes Home and Aladdin, helped the industry knock down the deficit compared with this time last year about a percentage point.
Playing along: Toy Story 4 took second place with $34.3 million. Starring the voice talents of Tom Hanks as Cowboy Woody, It has now earned $650 million globally
Due in part to under-performing sequels including Godzilla: King Of Monsters and Men In Black International, the year is running 8.4% behind last year.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, thinks Far From Home may have turned the tide.
'This movie was exactly the shot in the arm the summer needed, emotionally and spiritually if not financially,' said Dergarabedian, who noted the weekend overall was roughly equal to the same time frame last year.
Coming in third: Himesh Patel and Lily James in Yesterday, which earned $10.8 million and $7.9 million internationally for a $57 million global tally in its second weekend
'The whole notion of franchise fatigue, while true in some cases, is not in all. When movies aren't great, that's when people get fatigued,' he said
Perhaps just as cheering for the industry is how well a number of films are holding.
After two weeks atop the box office, Toy Story 4 slid 43% to second place, with $34.3 million. Starring the voice talents of Tom Hanks as Cowboy Woody and Tim Allen as astronaut Buzz Lightyear, It has now taken in $650 million globally.
Thriller chiller: Annabelle Comes Home snagged $10.8 million in its second weekend and $20.4 million overseas for a global take of $135 million.
Universal Pictures' Beatles-themed romantic comedy Yesterday dropped only 37 percent in its second weekend, earning $10.8 million and $7.9 million internationally for a $57 million global tally.
Warner Bros.' Annabelle Comes Home snagged $10.8 million in its second weekend and $20.4 million overseas for a global take of $135 million.
And Disney's Aladdin took fifth place in its seventh week of release with $7.6 million at home and $16.2 million internationally for a stunning cume of $921.7 million worldwide.
Weaving its magic: Aladdin came in fifth at the box office in its seventh week ot release, conjuring u[ $7.6 million at home and $16.2 million internationally for a stunning cume of $921.7 million worldwide
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