Oscar Isaac is slinging his way to the top of the box office…
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, featuring the 44-year-old Cuban-Guatemalan actor as Miguel O’Hara aka Spider-Man 2099, earned a stellar $120.5 million in its domestic box office debut.
The film beat expectations to land the second-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind only The Super Mario Bros. Movie with $146 million, as well as the third-biggest opening weekend for any Spider-Man film.
Sony’s animated sequel is benefitting from great reviews and positive word-of-mouth, as well as goodwill from its predecessor, 2018’s Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Initial ticket sales were significantly higher than the first film, which introduced audiences to Miles Morales and the idea that “anyone can wear the mask” and opened to just $35.5 million. But it proved to have enduring appeal and stuck around in theaters for a while, ending its run with $190 million in North America and $384 million globally.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse earned another $88.1 million from 59 territories in its international box office debut, led by China with $17.3 million. That brings its worldwide total to $208.6 million to start.
“This is an exceptionally good opening for an animation follow-up sequel,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Spider-Verse took a well-liked superhero, gave the storytelling an original visual style and voice and created a unique experience.”
Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson directed the PG-rated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which cost $100 million.
The story follows Miles and Gwen Stacy (a.k.a. Spider-Woman) as they attempt to save their fellow Spider People from the villain who goes by the name the Spot. Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld returned to voice Miles and Gwen, while the rest of the voice cast includes Brian Tyree Henry, Issa Rae, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya and Isaac. Lauren Velez voices the character of Rio Morales, Miles’ mom.
Audiences awarded the film an “A” CinemaScore while critics bestowed it with a 95% average on Rotten Tomatoes.