As theatres swing back into the Spider-Verse, the highly anticipated sequel, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”, captured a remarkable $17.35 million in Thursday previews, setting the stage for an expected opening weekend that’s now being predicted to exceed $120 million.
According to Variety, the film aims to surpass its predecessor, which opened with $35.4 million and had $3.5 million in Thursday previews in 2018.
READ MORE: Tom Holland Says ‘Spider-Man 4’ Is Paused ‘In Solidarity With The Writers’
“Across the Spider-Verse” swings into impressive heights with the second-highest preview gross for an animated film, just behind “The Incredibles 2”, and the second-highest previews for any “Spider-Man” movie, trailing only “Spider-Man: No Way Home”.
As the film spins its web worldwide, it amassed an impressive $13.5M in international box office markets through Thursday, as reported by Deadline.
Noteworthy milestones include India breaking the local opening day record for an animated movie, Mexico doubling the opening day of “Into the Spider-Verse”, and the UK achieving 5.3 times the original.
The iconic web-slinger’s popularity continues in China, where the film garners high scores among critics and audiences, with a local gross of $4M.
In a Saturday update from The Hollywood Reporter, Sony’s projection is slightly more conservative, with the opening weekend estimated at $113.5 million — which would still make “Across the Spider-Verse” the third-biggest opening of all time for an animated pic, and the biggest ever for a Sony animated feature.
Plans are already in motion for the Spider-Verse, with a highly anticipated third movie, “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse”, slated for March 29, 2024. Producers are also working on spinoffs, including a live-action Miles Morales and an animated “Spider-Woman” film.
