Tom Holland and Benedict Cumberbatch are in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The box office for Spider-Man: No Way Home is smashing records.
Between Thursday previews and Friday show times, the movie has sold over 120 million tickets.
"Just as the industry was preparing for the first $100 million opening weekend of the Pandemic era, 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' swung into theaters and obliterated expectations by hitting that mark by the end of Friday," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Com
Sony, a co-producer on the film with Disney, increased its estimate for the full weekend, saying it now expects the film to top $240 million. The initial estimate was for the film to score around $130 million. The analysts told CNBC that they think the film will make between $250 million and $265 million.
Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Box Office.com, said that the film captures the Zeitgeist and brings back many moviegoers for the first time during the Pandemic.
The opening of No Way Home is the highest-grossing opening of the Pandemic era so far. It will be one of the top 10 highest opening films in cinematic history, as it will be one of only eight films to exceed $200 million during its first weekend.
Audiences rushed to theaters early this weekend to catch the movie. The highest domestic and global opening of all time was achieved when the movie "Avengers: Endgame" was released in 2019.
The film is expected to have good ticket sales over the next few weeks, as audiences return to theaters to see it multiple times.
With strong word of mouth and the holiday season hitting full swing, there is a very real chance that this will be the second-biggest opening in history. Even with highly conservative projections, at least in the top four, with staying power well into the new year.
The second-highest opening in the history of the US is the $357.1 million that "Endgame" generated two years ago, but "Spider-Man: No Way Home" may not reach it.
Robbins said that the performance would be long remembered for its significance to both the industry and the movie theater. It is a testament to the power of the shared cinematic experience and the strategy of Sony that it was able to do that.
