Yahoo Finance ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Looks to Reclaim Box Office Crown From ‘Scream’
After one weekend outside of the No. 1 slot, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” could be surging ahead to lead the domestic box office once again. The Marvel entry and the slasher sequel “Scream” are locked in a tight battle this weekend, with “No Way Home” projected just ahead of its competition.
Columbia Pictures is projecting a $13.5 million gross for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” over its sixth weekend at the domestic box office, a soft 30% drop from its previous outing. After practically redefining the rules of the pandemic era box office, the mega-hit MCU entry is finally beginning to wind down its theatrical run. The release should expand its domestic cume to $720.4 million through Sunday. “No Way Home” currently stands as the fourth-highest grossing film in the history of the domestic box office. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($936 million) and “Avengers: Endgame” ($858 million) are likely out of reach at this point, though Spidey could claw its way past “Avatar” ($760 million) when all is said and done.
More from Variety
As is typical for most horror entries, “Scream” is hitting a sharp drop-off in its sophomore outing. Paramount and Spyglass Media are projecting an $11.7 million gross for this weekend, after earning $34 million in its Martin Luther King Jr. holiday opening. A 60% drop-off like that is in the neighborhood of sophomore weekends for other recent horror sequels, such as “A Quiet Place Part II” (a 59.5% second weekend drop) and “Halloween Kills” (a 71% second weekend drop). The self-branded “requel” should push its domestic gross past $50 million through Sunday. While “Scream” isn’t retaining a ton of heat at the box office, it’s already well past making returns on its reported $25 million production budget.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett direct “Scream,” taking over the series from its founder Wes Craven, who helmed the four first entries before his death in 2015. The film stars series regulars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette as they are once again haunted by a serial killer in a Ghostface mask. The killing spree extends to a group of high school students in the town of Woodsboro, Calif. Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid and Dylan Minnette also star in the slasher.
Universal’s “Sing 2” should take third place. The animated sequel is projected to earn an additional $5.56 million over the weekend, bringing its domestic total to $128.2 million. The film is now the pandemic era’s most successful animated release at the worldwide box office, surpassing $228 million globally, surging past “Encanto” and “Croods: A New Age.” While that’s a nice feather in Universal’s cap, it’s also a modest number that speaks to the struggles of family friendly fare at the box office during the pandemic.
Universal will also take fourth with its opening weekend of the faith-based drama “Redeeming Love.” The studio projects a $4 million gross from 1,903 locations. The romance has been met with poor reviews, though its adult-skewering material and muted rollout likely sealed its box office fate long before a Tomatometer was calculated.
Disney and 20th Century Studios’ spy prequel “The King’s Man” will round out the top five. The action release is projected to earn $1.73 million over the weekend, bringing its domestic total to a disappointing $31.4 million. The Matthew Vaughn-directed franchise entry sat on the shelf for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic before quietly debuting over the holiday season.
In other news regarding people with connections to the King, Gravitas Ventures’ “The King’s Daughter” is barely making a blip on the radar with a ninth place debut. The film is projected to net $690,000 from 2,170 locations. The fantasy drama stars Pierce Brosnan as a French royal obsessed with his own immortality.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
