‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ follows tradition with No. 1 debut

LOS ANGELES — After two weeks of dominance, Disney’s “Toy Story 4” was knocked from the top spot at the weekend box office by Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home”.

The third Marvel Cinematic Universe release of the year, “Far From Home” opened with $39.3 million on Tuesday before earning $93.6 million Friday through Sunday for a cumulative $185.1 million through the weekend, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore, well above analyst predictions of $125 million.

Internationally, it’s earned $395 million since opening June 28, for a global cumulative of $580 million.

The result is a rare win in what has so far been a summer dominated by franchise fatigue. While movies such as “Men in Black: International”, “Dark Phoenix” and “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” have disappointed both critically and commercially, Marvel’s films have consistently performed well, with “Avengers: Endgame” continuing to do business after 11 weeks in theatres.

“Far From Home” follows this year’s Marvel blockbusters “Captain Marvel” and “Endgame”, picking up the MCU narrative where the latter left off.

The second solo Spider-Man outing starring Tom Holland as the web-slinger cost an estimated $160 million to produce and introduces Jake Gyllenhaal as new character Mysterio. It earned positive reviews from critics, with a 92 per cent “fresh” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

The previous entry in the franchise, “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, opened with $117 million in 2017 before going on to gross $880 million in global receipts.

In second place, “Toy Story 4” added $34.3 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $306.6 million. Internationally, the picture earned $43.1 million for a worldwide cumulative of $650 million.

Universal’s “Yesterday” came in at No. 3, adding $10.8 million in its second weekend for a cumulative $36.9 million. It currently stands at $57 million in global grosses.

In fourth place, Warner Bros.’ “Annabelle Comes Home” added $9.8 million in its second weekend for a cumulative $50.2 million and $134.8 million worldwide.

Rounding out the top five, Disney’s “Aladdin” added $7.6 million in its seventh weekend for a cumulative $320.8 million and $921 million globally.

Also new this weekend, A24’s “Midsommar” earned $6.5 million over the weekend after its Wednesday opening for a cumulative $10.9 million, within range of analyst projections of $8 million to $10 million.

Directed by indie horror filmmaker Ari Aster, the movie follows a young couple who find themselves on a pastoral Swedish retreat that grows increasingly more sinister. The psychological thriller earned an 82 per cent “fresh” rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but a lacklustre C-plus CinemaScore.

Aster’s directorial debut, “Hereditary”, opened with $13.6 million in June 2018 before earning $79.3 million in global grosses. The film was a critical and commercial hit, and it remains the highest-opening picture for A24.

In seventh place, Universal’s “The Secret Life of Pets 2” added $4.8 million in its fifth weekend for a cumulative $140.7 million.

At No. 8, Sony’s “Men in Black: International” added $3.6 million in its fourth weekend for a cumulative $72 million.

In ninth place, Disney’s “Avengers: Endgame” added $3.1 million in its 11th weekend for a cumulative $847.9 million.

Rounding out the top 10, Paramount’s “Rocketman” added $2.8 million in its sixth weekend for a cumulative $89.2 million.

“Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love”, Nick Broomfield’s documentary on singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen and muse Marianne Ihlen, led the specialty openings with a per-screen average of $11,078. The Roadside Attractions release brought in $44,311 on four screens in New York and Los Angeles.

Also in limited release, Sony Pictures Classics’ “Maiden” expanded into 18 additional locations for a total of 24, earning $147,467 in its third weekend, for a cumulative $224,216.

Neon expanded “Wild Rose” in its third weekend to 63 locations from 16, earning $209,000 and a cumulative $380,770.

Greenwich Entertainment’s “Echo in the Canyon” expanded into 144 locations to $336,132 for a cumulative $2 million.

CBS Films expanded the documentary “Pavarotti” into 250 theatres in its fifth weekend to $470,000 for a cumulative $3 million.

A24’s “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” is playing in 188 locations (up from 155 last week) and added $332,899 for a cumulative $2.7 million.

ArtAffects Entertainment’s “The Other Side of Heaven 2” added $177,975 in its second weekend for a cumulative $966,425.

This week, Paramount releases the horror film “Crawl”, and Fox opens the action comedy “Stuber”. In limited release, A24 reveals the comedy drama “The Farewell” starring Awkwafina, and Bleecker Street unveils the Jesse Eisenberg comedy “The Art of Self Defence”.